


a moving sea (between the shores of your souls)

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: to love (and to be loved) [8]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Season/Series 01 Redux, Season/Series 01 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-04 11:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 42,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Steve McGarrett and Kono Kalakaua navigate their way through the first seven months of living together.





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from a line of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Kono Kalakaua was walking to the parking lot outside of the Honolulu Police Academy when her phone began ringing in her hand. Before she accepted the call, she was in a good mood. There were just over two weeks left until graduation. She was days away from becoming a cop. Every dream she’d had since she was six years old and asked what she wanted to be was about to come true.

Then she accepted that phone call, and her world imploded around her.

 Steve didn’t call her when he was out in the field. She was a distraction he couldn’t cope with when the lives of people he cared for and respected were on the line. So, when she saw his personal number on her screen, she knew immediately that something was wrong. She just didn’t yet know how bad it was.

“Hey,” she greeted once the phone was pressed to her ear. He remained silent on the other end of the line, causing her to panic internally, but all she said to him was, “Is everything okay?”

“No,” Steve managed, his words choked. “No. We, uh, we lost Freddie.”

“You lost – what do you mean, you lost Freddie?” Kono repeated confusedly. “Freddie’s visiting his parents on the mainland until the end of the month. You told me he was granted the leave-”

“He was,” Steve interrupted her. “He was, but we needed him back sooner than we thought we would. He came back a few days ago. We, uh, were called out into the field, and we – we lost him. _I_ lost him.”

Kono felt lightheaded. She’d known Freddie Hart for the better part of the past six years. He was one of her closest friends; he and Steve were like brothers. How could he just suddenly be gone? In what world was that even remotely fair?

“Steve, he’s – I’m so sorry,” she breathed, practically falling to the curb nearest her car. “I – what happened?”

“We went in to a situation we didn’t know enough about,” Steve told her bitterly. “I was given a choice as to who I wanted to take, and I chose him. And I got him killed.”

“You did not get him killed,” Kono argued.

“No, Kono, you weren’t there. _I got him killed_.” His tone left no room for argument. “He stayed behind to save my life. I left him there. I’m the reason he’s dead.”

“If you didn’t pull the trigger, then you are not the reason he’s dead, and you _know_ that,” Kono replied. “You also know he wouldn’t blame you for this, so you need to stop blaming yourself. The guilt of that’ll drive you insane soon enough.”

“Yeah, well, there’s no one else to blame,” Steve scoffed humorlessly. “It was just me and him out there, and I was the reason he was there with me. Kelly’s barely been a wife, and now she’s a widow. And his little girl – Kono, she’s never going to know her father.”

Kono drew in a deep breath. “He’s married?” she murmured, surprised. Freddie and Kelly were two of those people everyone else knew were going to end up together. She was glad they’d managed to figure it out themselves there at the end, even if it might make things more painful.

“Yeah. He got married while we were on leave,” Steve responded gruffly. “And they’re, uh, they have a little girl. She’s due at the start of the year.”

“Oh, my God.” Kono shook her head. “I’m – Steve,” she breathed.

“Yeah.” Steve cleared his throat. “Look, I’m not going to be able to make it to the party after all, okay?”

“Okay,” Kono murmured in acceptance, not even challenging his decision. It wasn’t as if her godfather didn’t know enough about such personal losses to understand why her future husband would be missing out on his birthday celebrations.

“I just – I have to get these guys,” he tried to explain. “You know, for Freddie, and…”

“Steve,” she murmured again. “You don’t need to explain anything to me. It’s okay. I’ll – I’ll be fine. You just do what you have to do, okay? You do what you have to do, and then you come back home to me.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed quietly. “I will.” He hesitated for a moment, then added, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kono returned without hesitation. “Come back, please. In one piece, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised.

“I’m holding you to that.” Kono sniffled, noticing in that moment that the tears gathered in her eyes were spilling down her cheeks. “I’m going to see you soon, okay?”

“I’ll see you soon,” he agreed.

With that final promise, they ended the call. The moment he was no longer on the other end of the line, Kono climbed from the curb, unlocked her car, slid behind the wheel, sat there, and sobbed until the sun no longer shined above.

-o-o-o-o-o-

John McGarrett was shot and killed in the living room of his own home on a Monday morning in late September, less than a week after Freddie Hart lost his life in North Korea. His son was on the phone with him when Victor Hesse pulled the trigger, avenging the death of his younger brother. Less than seventy-two hours later, Steve was on a plane bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, heading to the place he’d spent the first fifteen years of his life calling home for the first time since he’d buried his mother nearly two decades earlier.

He didn’t want Kono there when he arrived. With Hesse still on the lam, he believed there was a clear and present danger to her safety, and he feared that any association between them might place yet another unneeded target on her back. What he failed to realize, of course, was that the woman he planned to marry was at least as stubborn as he himself was, if not more so. She was there at the Harbor when he arrived, dressed in all black and pacing back and forth as she waited for him to appear.

“You really don’t like listening to people when they’re trying to keep you safe, do you?” he called, drawing her attention from the ocean.

She spun on her heel with a sad smile. “I didn’t inherit my mother’s self-preservation skills,” she returned as she approached, her pumps clicking loudly against the concrete. “And there was no way in _hell_ I was going to let you do this by yourself,” she added when she was closer. “There’s been too much of that over the past few years.”

“Kono,” Steve sighed, catching her hand between his own when she was near enough to him. “Victor Hesse wants me and everyone I care about dead. He just put a bullet in my father. I don’t want you within a thousand miles of this.”

“Well, then, it’s unfortunate for you that this is a very small island and it’s not 1920,” she responded promptly. “Because, _honey_ , contrary to popular belief, I do know how to handle myself, and even if I didn’t, you wouldn’t get to tell me what to do. That went out with the flappers.”

“I’m not trying to control you,” Steve muttered bitterly. “I’m trying to keep you alive. I’m sorry if it’s selfish for me not to want to lose three people I care about in as many weeks.”

Kono closed her eyes at the reminder of Freddie’s death the previous week. “It’s not,” she murmured in response. “It’s not, okay? I just – that was uncalled for. I’m just pissed. I don’t know how to help you. I don’t know how to make any of this better.”

“I honestly don’t think you can,” he told her softly, his hands releasing hers. He lifted one to brush his fingers against her cheek, tucking several strands of hair behind her ear. “You’re doing everything I need you to do by just being here, okay? You don’t need to worry about doing anything else.”

“Okay,” she whispered in response, her eyes falling closed as his lips brushed against hers for a single moment. She smiled sadly up at him when he pulled away. “Welcome home,” she said softly, brushing a hand against his cheek. “Thank you for making it back to me in one piece.”

“I promised, didn’t I?” Steve replied roughly, pulling her into his arms and burying his face in her hair.

“Yeah,” she whispered, her cheek pressed against his heart. “You did.”

Steve drew in a deep breath as he pulled away, allowing her to once again see the space around them, and her eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of the woman approaching them. “Steve?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?” he responded, running a hand tiredly over his face.

“Why is the governor on her way over here?”

He turned around. “Because she wants to discuss something with me,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It shouldn’t take me long. I still have to get to the funeral.”

“We have to get the funeral,” Kono corrected, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Steve sighed. “Kono.”

“I will let you have your talk with the governor,” she told him, patting his cheek. “We can continue this argument when you finish up, yeah?”

Steve exhaled heavily. “Yeah,” he agreed begrudgingly.

“Great!” She nodded respectfully to Governor Jameson as she walked past, making a beeline for the tourist shop where her cousin worked security to wait out her fiancé’s conversation.

She didn’t have to wait long. She was talking quietly with Chin Ho outside when the governor made her way past, leaving Steve standing not far from where Kono had last seen him, looking none-too-pleased as he paced back and forth.

“What could she have said?” Kono muttered.

“She asked him to run a task force,” Chin Ho returned, shrugging when she shot him a disbelieving look. “You’re the one engaged to him, cuz, not me. I don’t have to actively try not to listen in on the arguments people start in public. Especially when they involve our governor and the only son of a dead man I considered one of my best friends. McGarrett’s a good fit,” he added after a moment. “She’s a smart lady for asking him. You going to go talk to him about it?”

 “Yeah,” Kono sighed. “I mean, he looks ready to shoot someone, so I should probably… defuse the situation.” She drew in a deep breath as she headed over. “A task force, huh?”

Steve glanced up, his eyes meeting hers. “You heard?” he asked, exhaling heavily.

“Well, no. I was going out of my way not to listen,” she informed him. “Chin wasn’t, though. He caught the end of the conversation. He thinks she’s a very smart lady for thinking of you, by the way.”

“She’s a politician,” Steve returned tersely. “My father’s not even in the ground yet, and she’s already trying to capitalize on his death. It’s disgusting.”

“That might be true,” Kono hedged. “But they were friends, Steve. Good ones, even. I think she might just be trying to do right by him. And, in her eyes, that means doing right by you. That means letting you be the one to put away his killer.”

“I’m not going to put him away, Kono,” Steve told her seriously. “I’m going to put him down.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed, glancing away. “I know.” She drew in a deep breath. “You don’t need to worry about any of this right now, all right?” she murmured, reaching for her hand. “The funeral’s supposed to start in less than an hour. We need to go ahead and get to the church.”

“I know,” he muttered. “I know. I just…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Mary Ann’s not coming,” he told her quietly. “Something came up.” He scoffed. “Dad’s dead, but there’s something more important to his only daughter than burying him. I mean…” He shook his head. “I guess that describes the family in a nutshell, though, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know about that. I think it describes grief in a nutshell,” Kono corrected gently. “People deal with tragedies differently, Steve. Mary Ann’s – she’s doing what’s right for her. You’re doing what’s right for you. No one’s in the wrong.”

“You know, I hate it when you’re logical,” he whispered, releasing her fingers and pulling her into his side.

“No, you don’t,” she murmured in response. “It’s one of the reasons you’re marrying me.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “One of very, very many.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

“The service was beautiful,” Kono murmured several hours later, her fingers tangling with his as they made their way to the parking lot. “The poem Officer Kekoa read was a nice touch. Your dad would’ve liked it.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, his hand tightening around hers. “He would have.” He glanced away, clearing his throat. “I’m, uh, I’m going to go check out the house,” he informed her quietly.

“Okay. Well, I can drive you…” Kono trailed off when her eyes met his. “This is something you need to do by yourself, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Steve breathed, relief shining in his gaze. “I just…” He shrugged. “I need to say goodbye in my own way, and I can’t do that until I get the guy who did this. I can’t do _that_ if I don’t follow the evidence. Every piece of it is in that living room.”  

“Okay,” Kono murmured. “I’ll go home. But please call me if you need help, all right? With anything. I’ll be there in a second.”

“I know,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her cheek. “It’s one of the reasons I love you.”

She left him there hesitantly, still not altogether sure it was the best idea. She knew him well enough to know that there was no way he was going to back down, though, and she had no interest in getting in the way of his justice. After all, she knew better than most what it felt like to bury a father taken in the worst possible way.

She ended up at Seth and Bridget’s house, surrounded by the cheerful chatter of her nieces. Maia and Ruby were running about, laughing and cheering as they went. Hattie, the newest member of her brother’s little clan, was sleeping peacefully in Kono’s arms. Even at a month old, she seemed to know her aunt needed the comfort of her presence, because she didn’t fuss once, not even when the time for her next feeding came and went.

“How was it?” Bridget asked, settling onto the sofa next to her and extending a bottle in her direction. “I’m sorry we weren’t there, by the way. We wanted to be, but…” She nodded to the baby.

“No, it’s fine,” Kono assured her. “Steve wouldn’t have wanted you to leave the girls behind. Besides, he wasn’t exactly up for company,” she added, laughing humorlessly. “He didn’t even really want mine. I kind of just made up my own mind and got him to go along with it.”

“That’s half of what marriage is,” Bridget informed her dryly. “And don’t worry. He wanted you there. Even if you couldn’t tell. That’s what loving someone’s all about. It’s when he says he doesn’t want you there that he needs you the most.”

“Yeah.” Kono sighed. “I just don’t know what to say,” she admitted shamefully. “I mean, I knew Freddie, and I knew John, but I didn’t know them the way he did, so I can’t miss them the way he did. And I’m trying. I am really doing my best to be here for him, but I just – I don’t know how to do that.” She shook her head. “I feel like I’m six years old all over again, standing outside of my mother’s bathroom the night we buried my father and just listening to her sob because I had no idea what else to do. I feel so helpless.”

Bridget sighed quietly. “What he’s going through is something you’ve been through,” she reminded her sister-in-law. “And, contrary to popular belief, that doesn’t always make things easier.” She patted Kono’s shoulder. “Just be there,” she reiterated. “That’s really all you can do at this point.”

“Yeah.” Kono shook her head. “I hate feeling helpless.”

Bridget laughed sadly. “You think you feel helpless now, just wait until you’re a mother and it’s your kid in pain. That feels a thousand times worse.”

“Not helping, Bridge.”

Kono’s phone began ringing in her purse. She handed little Hattie off to Bridget, then reached across the sofa, seizing the bag and removing the device from it. She drew in a deep breath when Steve’s number continued flashing across the screen.

“Hi,” she greeted after accepting the call. “How’d it go?”

“Not well,” Steve answered tersely. “I got a phone call from your cousin on the ride over. The detective they handed the case off to? He’s fresh from the mainland. Has six months on the job here in Hawaii.”

Kono shook her head. “Why would they assign someone with no idea how this island works to a case this big?” she asked confusedly.

“I have no idea,” Steve muttered bitterly. “I met the guy, though. Nearly shot him in my dad’s garage. He tried to kick me out, told me the place was still an active crime scene.”

“Uh-huh, and what you’d do to him?” Kono questioned knowingly.

“I took the governor up on her offer and kicked him off the case the second I was sworn in,” he admitted guiltily.

“Yeah, that – that sounds like something you’d do.” Kono drew in a deep breath. “You do realize he probably knows more about this case than you do, don’t you? I mean, I know he’s fresh from the mainland without a lot of experience, but he’s still a detective. Your father was murdered four days ago. There’s no way he’s got nothing in that time.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to drive over in the morning and ask him to be my partner,” Steve explained.

“Oh, you are?” Kono’s eyes widened incredulously. “You held the man at gunpoint, babe.” She waved off Bridget’s concern when the other woman glanced up from feeding her daughter with an arched brow. “He might be a better person than me, but I know if someone did that to me, the last thing I’d do afterwards is help them out.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Steve agreed. “But he’s the only person on this island who might have a lead on where Hesse ran off to. I’ve got to take my chances.”

“All right,” Kono sighed. “Well, I’ll be waiting at your place with an icepack when you come home tomorrow.”

“Very funny,” Steve deadpanned. “I’m sure it’s not going to go that badly.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

It went that badly.

In her fiancé’s defense, it wasn’t exactly his fault. Fred Doran was a psychopath with a gun. There was a girl locked up in his basement, and he had a lot to lose. When Detective Williams shot him in the head, it likely saved plenty of lives.

It did not, however, help them get further with their case, which was something Steve pointed out after Williams shouted at him for not thanking him for saving his life. It’d all snowballed after that, apparently, and while everything going bad at the beginning probably wasn’t her fiancé’s fault, Kono was more than certain that he’d had a bit to do with things going downhill so quickly.

“You probably shouldn’t have twisted his arm behind his back in front of several dozen cops,” Kono pointed out, shaking her head exasperatedly despite the fact that she knew he couldn’t see her through the phone. “I hate to admit it, babe, but I think you earned that punch.”

“Yeah,” Steve muttered. “I think I might’ve earned it, too.” He drew in a deep breath. “I just – she’s a kid. She’s a kid, and that bastard was keeping her in a cupboard. He _traded_ for her, like she was just something to be had.”

“I know, and it’s awful, it really is, but starting fistfights with your new partner in trailer parks isn’t going to help her or any of the others who’ve had the same thing happen to them, babe.” Kono sighed quietly. “Do you have any idea who brought her over here?”

“No. But I think I know who to ask.” He paused for a moment to listen to someone in the background. “Hey, look, I’ve got to go,” he muttered. “We’re done here, and I have to go see someone. I’ll call you back later, okay?”

“Sure,” Kono agreed easily. “Love you.”

“Yeah, you too.” With that, the call ended, and Kono returned to the television show she’d been watching when the phone began ringing.

It turned out that the person Steve wanted to talk to about trafficking in and out of Oahu was her cousin. She should have seen that coming. Chin Ho spent over a decade with the force, after all. He’d been John’s partner for many of those years, and they’d been friends even after Chin handed his badge over. He was also Kono’s family, and she’d vouched for him more than once. It was not surprising that Steve trusted him enough to ask for help. The thing that really shocked her was that her cousin agreed.

“John was my friend,” Chin Ho called her when she brought it up. “He did a lot for me when no one else at HPD would so much as look at me. I owe him this much.” His tone turned teasingly. “Plus, his kid’s about to marry into the family. This is what we do for family, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed in begrudging agreement. “This is what we do for family.”

She drove out to a beach near her childhood home that afternoon. It was there that Steve and the others found her when they came looking. She ended up knocking a tourist on his ass right there in the sand after he knocked her off her board in the water. She probably should’ve felt worse about it than she did.

She caught sight of Chin a little way up the beach, Steve on one side and a man she guessed was Detective Williams on the other. “Cousin!” she greeted cheerfully, jogging in their direction.

“You had it, Water Woman!” Chin greeted her laughingly, hugging her briefly. “Double-overheads.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed, shaking her head. “What a waste, right? First good pipe of the season, too.”

“Tourists,” Chin Ho offered, shrugging. “What are you going to do?” He gestured over to the blond standing next to him. “Kono, meet Detective Danny Williams.”

“Hi,” she greeted with a polite smile, extending her hand in the man’s direction.

He accepted it, holding on for a little longer than necessary. “Hi,” he returned.

Chin cleared his throat after a few moments. “Okay, brah, that’s enough.”

“Okay,” Danny accepted, dropping her hand obligingly with a friendly smile still in place.

“And I, uh, don’t think I need to introduce you to this one,” Chin teased, nodding over to Steve with a wry smile.

“Nice right hook,” Steve complimented, smirking down at her. “Glad I’ve never been on the receiving end of it.”

“Nah, babe, that was a love tap,” she returned with a smile of her own. “Though you’ve probably got the right idea, not wanting to be on the receiving end of it. I should probably go scrape that guy up off the ground.” She glanced over her shoulder and raised a brow. “Never mind. Managed to do it himself, looks like.”

Danny glanced back and forth between them. “Do you two know each other?” he asked confusedly.

“I’d hope so,” Chin replied before either of them could. “They’ve been engaged for the better part of the past year.”

Danny shot her an incredulous look. “You’re planning to marry this man? Willingly?” he checked, gesturing to Steve with wide eyes.

“I am,” Kono confirmed amusedly. “There wouldn’t be much point in me saying yes otherwise, would there?” She glanced over at Steve. “So, you don’t talk about me to your friends, huh?” she teased.

“I do,” Steve rushed to assure her. “He just doesn’t fall into that category. And I mentioned you,” he added after a moment. “I can’t control whether or not he’s listening to me when I talk.”

“Oh, sorry I didn’t pick up on the fact that you’re engaged, McGarrett,” Danny apologized sarcastically. “I was probably a little busy at the time. You know, trying not to get shot for the second time in twenty-four hours.”

“Okay,” Kono interrupted, glancing back and forth between them. “There really doesn’t need to be another fistfight on this beach today, all right? Why’d you come all this way? I’m sure it wasn’t to have the same fight in a different location.”

“It wasn’t,” Steve assured her. “We need your help tracking down the guy Doran was in business with. We’re planning tp a meeting with the guy. The only problem is, we need a woman to go in undercover, get him to fess up to the trafficking. We’d ask HPD to help out, but the chances that he doesn’t know every single cop on the force aren’t exactly high.”

“So, what, you want me to do it?” Kono questioned. She considered her options for a moment after Steve nodded. “Okay. I’m in.”

“Well, you don’t have to give me an answer now,” Steve rushed to assure her. “The earliest we’re going to be able to set up a meeting is tomorrow morning. If you want to take some time, think it over…”

“Steve, you’re going after someone who might’ve helped the bastard who killed your father,” Kono pointed out. “I knew your dad. I liked your dad. I want you to get Hesse, and if that means helping you take down the guy who gave Doran a girl to lock in a closet, then so be it. It’s like I said. I’m in.”

“Oh, amazing,” Williams said dryly. “She didn’t even think about it. See, I was standing here, trying to understand how you ever got this girl to marry you, and now I’ve got my answer. She’s insane, too.” He glanced over at her apologetically. “Sorry. And congratulations on the engagement, by the way,” he tacked on after a moment. “I do not understand it, at all, but it’s good news for you, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Kono replied amusedly. “It is. Thanks.” She glanced over at her fiancé. “So. How are we going to do this?”

Danny came over with surveillance equipment that night. He and Steve ended up drinking and talking for several hours, just sitting there at the kitchen table, and Kono couldn’t help but be reminded of the stories she’d heard about the earlier days of Steve’s friendship with Freddie, how they’d hated each other right up until the moment that they were willing to die for one another. The pain of losing his best friend – his brother – was still fresh for Steve, and Kono knew that. But perhaps something good would come out of all the agony he was being forced to endure, after all.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It wasn’t often that Kono saw her fiancé angry. As he dragged Sang Min Sooh away from her the next afternoon, however, Steve didn’t just look mad. He looked downright murderous.

She understood it. She did. She’d just been made to strip down naked in front of a roomful of complete strangers, and then the guy had tried to kill her. It was more than enough to drive the average person to anger. In fact, there were probably more than a few people that it would drive to murder. So, she didn’t say a word to him as he made his way past with their suspect. There wasn’t anything to say. Nothing was going to calm him down, not after what he’d gone through in the past few weeks, so it just seemed to be a better idea to let him do whatever it was he was going to do.

“So.” Danny cleared his throat next to her, drawing her attention away from Steve and Chin Ho. “How exactly did you end up deciding to spend your life with that Rambo wannabe?”

“I met him on a beach in South Korea,” Kono responded evenly. “Nearly took him out accidently. High heel,” she explained when he shot her a confused frown. “I gave him my number that night. We ran into each other again the next day, decided to grab coffee. Six years later, and here we are.”  

“I feel like there’s a lot you’re leaving out,” Danny commented.

She smiled, admitting, “There is. But I don’t know you that well yet, Williams.”

A few minutes later, Steve made his way past them. “Danny, come on, we got to go,” he ordered.

“Got what you need?” Kono asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. He’s on a ship to China. Danny. Let’s go,” he ordered again.

Danny shook his head as he trailed after his partner. “You’re marrying an insane man!” he called over his shoulder to Kono.

She simply smiled.

Victor Hesse ended up in the bottom of the ocean at the end of that day, put there by every bullet in Steve’s gun. They didn’t find his body, but the Coast Guard assured them they wouldn’t stop looking until there was concrete proof that the man was dead. In the meantime, they had an office to set up and things to do.

“So,” Kono asked after a few beers. Her head was resting on Steve’s chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She was tired, to say the least. “I still think we need a name.”

“We do,” Danny agreed. “We do. But _Strike Force_ is, uh, it’s not the name we need.”

“What’s wrong with it? It’s a badass name,” Kono protested.

“It’s not. Not at all,” Danny returned. “And no one would take us seriously if we used it.” He glanced at Steve and shrugged. “Then again, we’re a task force being run by a literal psychopath, so they’re probably not going to take us seriously, anyway.”

“He’s not a psychopath. His mother had him tested,” Kono teased, laughing when her fiancé shook his head exasperatedly at the joke they were having at his expense.

“Really?” Steve asked her, arching a brow.

“Sorry, honey,” she murmured unapologetically, a smirk on her lips. “You’ve given us a lot of ammunition this week.”

“He has,” Danny agreed. “I mean, what with getting me shot and then driving onto a boat, he’s given us enough to mock him for, what, at least the next decade, right?” He turned wary eyes towards his partner. “You really don’t need to give us anymore, by the way. Please don’t pull the same stunts next case.”

Steve just smirked.

Danny groaned. “Oh, great. I don’t like that look. I don’t trust that look.”

“You shouldn’t,” Kono assured him.

Danny sighed. “Oh, this is going to be an interesting endeavor. And by interesting, I mean stupid. So, so stupid.”

Steve’s smirk just widened. “Don’t worry, _Danno_ ,” he drawled. “It’ll be fun.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “Oh, God, I’m going to die.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

 

The sun had long since set by the time that their celebration ended and Steve and Kono headed out to the parking lot. Chin Ho and Danny bid them goodbye as they climbed into their own vehicles. As soon as the Camaro peeled away out onto the main road, the engaged couple was finally left alone.

Steve hadn’t been in his own head as much throughout the evening. Once they were on the road, however, he fell silent, staring broodily ahead as she drove quietly through the dark streets of Honolulu.

Eventually, the silence became too much for Kono. “Is everything all right?” she questioned, glancing in her rearview mirror and then merging flawlessly into the next lane over.

“Not really,” Steve admitted, still staring straight ahead. “I threatened to send a seven-year-old kid to Rwanda today, knowing what would happen if I followed through with it. That’s what I did to get information on Hesse from Sang Min.” He shook his head with a humorless scoff. “I don’t know if I have it in me to be the good guy, Kono,” he murmured a few seconds later. “This is Honolulu, not Kandahar, and I just – I can’t get out of my own head.”

“You’re already the good guy,” she reminded him. “You are. You’ve always done whatever it takes to keep the people around you safe.”

“But if keeping the people around me safe means putting others in danger, then is anyone really the good guy?” Steve questioned. “I used to see everything in black and white. Right and wrong. There was a very clear line between the two. And now…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “That kid didn’t do anything wrong. All he did was be born to a monster. We can’t choose our parents. He didn’t choose to have that bastard for a dad.”

“No,” Kono agreed quietly. “He didn’t.” She glanced over at him. “But I know you,” she added after a moment. “You could’ve made that threat a thousand times, and you wouldn’t have followed through on it even once.”

“Does that matter?” Steve muttered self-deprecatingly.

“Yes,” Kono replied definitively. “Because it’s not the threats you make that define you, Steve. It’s the ones you’re willing to honor.”

Steve cracked a smile at that. “Pat tell you that?”

“It’s a direct quote,” Kono confirmed, flashing a smile of her own. “Which is why you should believe it, because my godfather is a very smart man.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured in agreement. “He is.”

They made the rest of the drive to the McGarrett home in relative silence. The place was finally cleaned up and cleared out, which Kono was thankful for. It didn’t matter that Steve was in his present line of work because of how badly he’d wanted justice for his father. He didn’t need a reminder of what had happened to John within those four walls every time he turned around.

“You want something to eat?” Steve offered, heading into the kitchen. “I have some leftover Chinese food, if you’re interested. Or I could make something. I think I have some things tucked away.”

“Whatever,” Kono called back. “I can help, if you want. Although, you know, I don’t think your dad has Kraft Mac and Cheese hidden away anywhere.” She opened the cupboard to search for herself. “Huh. Well, that’s surprising,” she commented, removing two boxes of the very thing she’d just spoken about.

“Dad wasn’t exactly the best cook,” Steve commented fondly, making his way past her to the fridge. “We have stuff for grilled cheese, and not much else,” he informed her.

“Grilled cheese is good with me,” Kono agreed quickly, bending to search for a pot in which to boil the water for the pasta in a nearby cabinet. “I haven’t had one of those since I was still on the pro circuit and living with a bunch of other people incapable of cooking something healthy. Neither of the girls like it. Can you believe that?”

“Well, they’re Seth’s kids,” Steve pointed out. “Doesn’t he eat healthy? Bridge too?”

“Yes,” Kono sighed. “The girls haven’t had a burger in their lives. I’m not just talking McDonald’s, either. Like, they’ve legitimately never had red meat. Bridge won’t even buy bacon for them. She gets the turkey stuff.”

“Is this your way of telling me you don’t want to follow their example with our kids?” Steve questioned, searching for the griddle his father had kept below the sink and carefully hefting it to the stovetop when he’d found it.

“The girls are almost at the point where they have to take iron supplements,” Kono muttered under her breath as she flipped on the back burner and placed the pot full of water atop it. “So, no, let’s just stick to what we know when it comes to feeding our future, fictitious children.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve smirked next to her, moving the griddle aside so that she could more easily empty the boxes of pasta into the water when it began to boil. “By the way, my aunt called a few days ago, asked if we have anything planned for the wedding. She wants to make sure she’ll have plenty of time to schedule it all out.”

Kono shot him a surprised look. “I didn’t know you wanted to talk about the wedding,” she hedged.

“I want to be married to you,” Steve pointed out simply. “There’s got to be a wedding in there somewhere, right?”

“Yeah,” Kono smiled. “There does.”

Steve sighed, glancing away. “I want to pay attention to the future,” he admitted. “That’s you.”

“Okay,” Kono smiled. “Let’s figure out when we’re going to get married.”

Steve grinned at her in response. “Okay.”


	2. Ohana

Steve was silent on the ride home after her impromptu graduation ceremony that evening. Kono understood why. After all, nothing bothered her fiancé more than being unable to protect the people he cared about, and yet he’d been the one to send her straight into the Serbians’ trap. It wasn’t his fault, though, and Kono would be damned if she continued to allow him to just sit there and blame himself for it.

“It’s a few bruises, Steve,” she reminded him gently once they were inside the house. “Nothing worse than I got during my training. It’s fine.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, clearing his throat. “It’s fine, other than the fact that you got those bruises from a woman who was trying to kill you. A woman _I_ sent you to look after.” He hung his keys on their hook next to the door and shook his head.

“She was so obviously on their side,” he muttered. “I should’ve seen it coming from a mile away, and yet I didn’t. Instead, I trusted that she loved the guy we were looking for. I decided to believe her, and because of that, your life and a little boy’s were put in danger today.”

“So, what, you want me to be pissed at you for not being able to read minds?” Kono questioned him incredulously. “Because that’s not going to happen. _None_ of us thought she was a threat, Steve. It’s not just on you. We were _all_ blindsided by her.”

“Yeah, well, I’m the only member of the team who has SEAL training,” he pointed out. “So, even if none of you saw it coming, I still should’ve. I was trained for it.”

“Steve, you’re a SEAL, and you’re a cop, but you’re not a mind-reader,” she murmured. “Natalie seemed like a good person, right up until she didn’t. And, as the woman she almost killed, believe me when I say that you are the last person I choose to blame for what happened today.”

“Maybe you should reevaluate your choices,” Steve muttered, practically collapsing onto the sofa.

Kono smiled sadly as she followed him into the living room and curled up next to him. “Maybe you should stop blaming yourself for everyone else’s,” she suggested just as softly.

Her phone began ringing before he could respond, and she groaned loudly as she reached into her pants pocket to fish for it. After a few moments, she emerged victorious. As soon as she caught sight of the name flashing across the screen, however, she began to wonder if her day could get any worse than, you know, being almost slaughtered in a warehouse by members of a Serbian gang.

“Hi, Mom,” she murmured, shaking her head at Steve when he glanced down at her with a wry smirk.

_“Kono!”_ Victoria exclaimed. _“Oh, thank God. I was beginning to wonder if you were all right.”_

“I’m fine,” Kono assured the older woman. “I called Uncle Pat to tell him that; he told me he was going to tell you, too. Have you not heard from him?”

_“Oh, no, I have,”_ Victoria rushed to assure her. _“I have. I just didn’t know why you were missing out on your graduation ceremony, that’s all. I mean, it’s what you’ve been building up to for the better part of the past year. I just – I figured you’d want to be there with all your friends. It’s your final hoorah, isn’t it?”_

Kono shook her head exasperatedly at her mother’s terminology. “Yeah, it is,” she agreed after a moment. “But something came up at work, and that was more important.”

_“Steven couldn’t let you out of the office for even an hour?”_ her mother questioned disapprovingly.

“I’m sure he would’ve if I’d asked, Mom,” Kono sighed, leaning her head back against her fiancé’s shoulder. For someone getting dragged through the wringer on the other end of the line, he looked rather amused. “I made the decision to stay for myself. He didn’t make it for me. A single father was missing, and I was with his little boy.”

_“Oh. Well. That’s a good reason to miss, I suppose.”_ Victoria delicately cleared her throat. _“That’s only one of the reasons I called. I know you were excited about your graduation dinner, but seeing as there’s been a change of plans, I was wondering if you’d like us to host one here for you, instead. You could have a lot more people over that way.”_

Kono drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “That sounds great, Mom,” she agreed. “I’ll tell everyone tomorrow?”

_“Yes,”_ Victoria agreed. _“I was hoping we could have it this weekend?”_

“This weekend sounds perfect,” Kono assured her. “Hey, Mom, it’s been a long day, so I’m going to go get some sleep, all right? I’ll talk to you this weekend. Love you.”

_“Love you, too,”_ Victoria replied just before Kono ended the call.

Steve smirked down at her. “So. You going to invite all of us over for this graduation dinner of yours?” he questioned teasingly.

“Yes,” Kono sighed. “But only because inviting you and Chin is a given, and I don’t want Danny to feel left out. Even if my family will give him enough material to mock me and the entire state of Hawaii for the next decade in the span of a single meal.”

“I’m sure they won’t be that bad,” Steve assured her.

“Have you met my family?” Kono questioned wryly. “My siblings get out of bed in the morning for the sole purpose of embarrassing me some days. Well, other than Seth. He gets out of bed so that his kids will stop kicking him in the spleen. But you get the point.”

“I do,” Steve confirmed, amused. “But look at it this way. Chin’s used to the insanity, and I’m planning to marry into it. We’re not going to make fun of you, and not just because we fear your mother more than we do most dictators.” He grinned at Kono when she laughed quietly at that. “It’ll be fine,” he promised once again.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It wasn’t fine.

In her mother’s defense, it wasn’t her fault. The party was nice. The decorations were beautiful, the cake was delicious, and the gifts given to Kono by her mother and each of her three siblings – as well as some of her other relatives who’d dropped by and then promptly ducked out upon seeing Chin – were practical and sentimental at the same time. Everything was going fine. Right up until the moment that her godfather received a phone call and pulled her quickly from the room and straight out onto the back porch.

“I just got a call from a friend of mine in Corrections,” he informed her quietly. “Thomas Palakiko is up for parole in the next few weeks. His lawyer’s asking that you meet with him.”

“Me, as in any of us kids?” Kono asked, confused.

Uncle Patrick shook his head. “No. You as in you. You’re the one who followed in your father’s footsteps and became a cop. I guess he thinks that if he gains your forgiveness, he can gain anyone else’s pretty easily.”

Kono laughed humorlessly. “He wants my forgiveness? Pat, he murdered my father when I was six. You were holding Dad’s hand when he died. I mean…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. Not after what he did.”

“You’re right,” Uncle Patrick agreed without hesitation. “He doesn’t. He deserves nothing from you, and you know that as well as I do. But I have to get back to his lawyer. She won’t stop calling until I do, and I don’t want her to start harassing you or your mother. So. What do you want me to tell her?”

“You tell her I will never set foot in the same room as that man again,” Kono replied.

Uncle Patrick pushed up from the step. “That’s what I’ll do, then,” he promised, turning for the house.

“Hey, Pat?” Kono added quietly, causing the man to spin around.

“Yeah?”

“After you tell her that, you tell her to tell him that I’m Catholic, which means I really mean it when I say that I hope he rots in hell for what he did to my dad.”

Uncle Patrick smiled sadly at that. “Yeah. I’ll tell her that, too,” he promised, bending down to press a fatherly kiss to the top of her head and then heading back in the direction he’d come.

It was there on the back porch that Steve found her half an hour later, still staring straight ahead.

“Hey,” he greeted gently, sinking down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You’re missing your party in there, you know. Your mother’s busted out the second cake of the evening without you.”

Kono smiled at that, then turned to bury her face against his shoulder. “Palakiko’s parole hearing is coming up in a few weeks,” she informed him, sniffling just once. “His lawyer says he wants to meet with me.” She shook her head against his shirt when he raised his head in alarm. “I’m not going,” she promised. “He ruined my whole life when I was six years old. I’m not going to allow him to make things worse for me now.”

“Good,” Steve breathed out in relief. “I’m glad. I mean, it’s your decision. It’s always going to be your decision. But I just, the idea of you in the same room as that man…”

“Yeah,” Kono agreed. “Makes me sick to my stomach, too.” She sighed, her eyes drifting closed as he wrapped his arm more tightly around her. “I told Patrick to tell him I wished he’d rot in hell.”

Steve beamed down at her. “That’s my girl.”

Kono sighed. “This week’s been exhausting,” she admitted.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, lifting one hand to brush the backs of his fingers gently against the revealed portions of the bruises on her cheeks. “It has.”

“But I am still really glad I became a cop,” she murmured. “And I’m really glad I got to do it with you by my side.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed once again. “I’m really glad I got to be here for it, too.”

“Hey. I don’t know if I ever did thank you for the gun.”

“You did,” Steve assured her. “Multiple times.”

“Well. Still. Thanks for the gun,” she murmured. “It’s just about the sweetest gift I’ve ever gotten. Right up there with those flowers you somehow managed to order from a warzone.”

“I had my ways,” Steve whispered mysteriously, smirking at her when she tilted her head back and rolled her eyes at him. “Most of those ways included calling my dad or one of his friends,” he admitted. “But still. I had my ways.”

“Yes, you did,” Kono agreed, sighing heavily as she once again snuggled close. “Hey. I don’t know exactly how it is that Heaven works, but I really hope that everyone we’ve ever lost, that they’re all together right now. That they’re all seeing this.”

“I hope they are, too," Steve murmured. "They'd all be really proud of you today, you know. My mom and your dad, especially." 

"Your mom never met me," Kono pointed out.

"No, you're right, she didn't," Steve agreed. "But I love you, and that would've been enough for her. Plus, you know. You're a little bit awesome." 

"A little bit awesome?" Kono echoed teasingly. 

"Fine, fine," Steve sighed, amused. "You're very awesome, Kono."

"I know," she assured him. 

He laughed quietly. "Of course you do," he teased before sighing and glancing around the backyard. "Your mother wants to know if we'd like to host the wedding here, by the way."

"No. We're hosting it at your place. Well, our place now, I suppose." Kono shrugged and cleared her throat quietly when he glanced down at her. "There's a lot more room out there," she pointed out. "And all the people we've lost, they loved the water. I just - I want to feel close to them, you know? I want to feel like they're there with us."

"Okay," Steve agreed without argument. "That sounds nice." 

"It does?" Kono questioned, surprised.

Steve simply smiled. "Kono, I just want to marry you," he reminded her. "So, yeah, it sounds nice. Honestly, anywhere sounds nice at this point. You just tell me when and where, and I will show up." 

"Okay," Kono agreed, her head once again falling to his shoulder.

"Okay," he echoed.

They both turned their attention back to the sky to watch the final few moments of the sunset, more content with life and love than either had been in a very long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas Palakiko is the dirty cop who killed Kono's father when she was six years old. He's mentioned in the first story in the series, but if any of you are just reading this one and haven't seen that one yet, I figured I'd clarify.


	3. Malama Ka Aina

“It was a nice thing, what you did for Danny,” Kono told her fiancé as they pulled into the driveway of the home they shared after spending most of the afternoon at the Palace. “I know it must mean a lot to him.” She smiled widely when he glanced at her. “Come on. Rachel was ready to read him the riot act when it came to Gracie, and now she’s willing to stand down and let him have time with his kid? I may not know a lot about your partner yet, but I do know enough to be positive his ex-wife wouldn’t surrender if she didn’t have a good reason to. So, whatever you did to get her to change her mind, it was nice. You are - you’re nice, babe, admit it.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so, but it’s not like I really did anything. I just made a call, that’s all.” Steve turned the key in the ignition, silencing the engine. “I didn’t do any more or any less for him than he would have for me.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she assured him. “I still think you’re nice, though.”

“Well, don’t share your suspicions with anyone else,” he teased as he opened his door to climb from the truck. He circled around the vehicle to open her door and help her out, something he’d done whenever possible ever since they met. It was one of the many things that’d stuck with him from his early days in the Navy. “You’ll ruin my street cred.”

“I hate to break it to you, babe, but you have no street cred.” She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “It’s adorable that you assumed you did, though, it really is.”

“You’re hilarious,” he replied dryly, following her up onto the deck and waiting while she unlocked the door. He placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her inside, then closed and locked the door behind them. “Dinner?” he asked as he turned to face her.

“When have you ever known me to turn a meal down?” she replied, following him into the kitchen. “I’m surprised you even ask anymore.”

“Polite thing to do,” he returned, brushing his hand against her back as he moved around her to open the refrigerator. “We have, uh.” He blinked. “Well, we have spinach, and, uh, more spinach.”

“Wow.” Kono shook her head. “We really need to go to the grocery store, huh? This is - well, it’s just pathetic. My mother would be ashamed of us.”

“Your mother’s already ashamed of us,” Steve pointed out. “Is she talking to you again?”

“You mean, since I told her I moved in and we’re not married? Nope. She’s still icier than the Arctic.” Kono sighed. “Want to order in from the Rainbow?”

“Let’s do it.” Steve dialed the local restaurant’s number and placed their usual order, then thanked the waitress and ended the call. “So,” he began after a moment, smirking, “I have to ask you something.”

“Ooh, sounds serious,” Kono teased, heading into the living room and sinking onto the sofa. “What’s up?”

“You like kissing Danny?” He laughed when she rolled her eyes. “No, really, I want to know if I have sudden competition for your affections or something.”  

Kono groaned. “You don’t. You know you don’t. You just brought it up so that you could make fun of me for it. And, in my defense, I tried to rope you into it. You decided to be the responsible team leader, remember?”

“I do,” Steve chuckled. “I just wanted to see how pissed you’d get if I brought it up, that’s all.”

“Oh, so you enjoy playing with fire, do you?” Kono teased. “Didn’t have enough near-death experiences in the Navy, did you?”

Steve simply laughed at that. “You know, the reason I’m teasing you about it is because you’ve never given me a reason to be jealous.”

“Yeah, and I never will,” she sighed, laying her head against his shoulder. “You are a much better kisser, though. Just so you know.”

“Uh-huh. Am I allowed to tell Danny that?” he asked hopefully.

“Not unless you enjoy sleeping alone,” she replied sternly.

“Fine,” he sighed, his lips pressing against her cheek before he left to search for the bottle of Jameson his father had always kept tucked away. After the day they’d had, he figured they’d both earned a pre-dinner drink.

The food arrived half an hour later, and they settled in at the table, laughing and talking over plate dinners and glasses of wine.

“Sid called me earlier, before you came back,” Kono told him halfway through the meal. “Wanted to know if I’d invite Chin Ho to the family barbeque in a few weeks. I told him I would.”

“Couldn’t do it himself?” Steve questioned wryly, arching a brow as he took another bite of chicken.

“They’re not there yet, I guess.” Kono shrugged. “I’m just going to take what I can get, at this point. No one else in the family believed in his innocence. I mean, I became an outcast just as much as he did as soon as I started defending him. Not being on the outside looking in? I can’t exactly say I’m disappointed by the turn of events.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re on the outside looking in,” Steve observed, frowning. “Your mom and your siblings…”

“Seth and I had more than a few shouting matches about it when you were overseas,” Kono admitted. “I don’t think he ever even tried to believe Chin was innocent. And Andrea and Hannah…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “They’re not cops, you know? They understand loyalty, but not to that degree. I don’t think it ever occurred to them that they should lose a cousin over the judgement of the department, but they also weren’t willing to ignore our brother’s warnings.”

“So, what, they don’t like him, either?” Steve raised a brow.

“They love him, Steve,” Kono sighed. “I think that’s the reason it’s so hard to trust him again.”

“Everything seemed fine at your graduation party,” Steve pointed out.

“Ah, yes, well, my family members can be pathological liars when they want to be.” Kono speared one of the remaining vegetables on her plate. “Now that Sid’s starting to come around, though, I’m hoping it’ll get better. He’s always been like a big brother to Seth. My brother won’t listen to me, but maybe he’ll listen to him.”

“You can always hope,” Steve agreed. “So. We still meeting Patrick at the Coffee House on Saturday?”

“Standing date,” Kono reminded him. “Ever since I got home from being hurt. You can go hang out with Danny if you want. I know how you feel about pancakes.”

“I don’t have a problem with pancakes,” he protested. “I have a problem with having to swim ten miles and run another twenty to burn off the calories in them. But I can make an exception once a week, I guess.”

“Oh, you really do love me,” Kono hummed, grinning over at him when he simply shook his head in exasperation. “Hey. I’ve been meaning to ask you. Is your sister still planning to fly in next week?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “She is. Well, last I heard, at least. If anything changed, you’d know before I did.”

Kono smiled sadly. “I’m glad she’s coming. Maybe it’ll help her heal, you know?”

“I don’t think anything’s going to help her heal,” he admitted. “She’s been too angry for too long. She hated Dad, and now he’s dead, and there’s no way for her to go back and unsay the things she said. It’s going to haunt her, no matter where she is.”

“Maybe it will,” Kono conceded. “But she was ten years old when your dad sent her away, Steve. She’d just buried her mother. And I know enough about your Aunt Deb to know that she was completely protected from the world as soon as she got to California. She’s never had to grow up, so she’s still the same lost little girl she was the last time you saw her. It’s the reason she can’t keep a job or stay in a relationship. It’s the reason that, two times a year, you called me to tell me she was back in rehab.”

Steve exhaled loudly. “I called you because I couldn’t call my dad,” he admitted. “I couldn’t do that to him. I mean, he and I, we had our issues, but they were never as bad as the ones he had with Mary.”

“She was the baby,” Kono pointed out. “And she’s probably never grown out of that mindset. I know you’re upset that she missed your father’s funeral, and you have every right to be, but come on, Steve, you can’t be pissed at her for trying to accept what’s happened so that she can move on with her life. It wouldn’t be fair to her for you to be upset about that.”

“I know.” Steve shook his head. “I haven’t seen her in eighteen years, you know.”

“I know,’ Kono murmured in response. “But here’s the thing I’ve learned about family. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

Steve cleared his throat and pushed away his plate, obviously eager to change the subject. “She’s going to want to talk about the wedding, you know.”

“We have a location,” Kono pointed out. “More than we had the last time she asked.” She reached across the table and patted his hand. “We’ll figure it out at some point.”

“Sooner rather than later, yeah?” Steve pleaded.

“Yeah,” Kono promised, laughing. “Sooner rather than later.”


	4. Lanakila

Kono smiled widely as brother and sister made their way into the kitchen that afternoon, arguing loudly about something as they went. Steve had come back home with Mary Ann after finding her at their father’s grave earlier that day, and the two had been catching up ever since. Apparently, in the McGarrett family, ‘catching up’ meant having heated discussions around a fire, or, in their case, a barbeque. Still, despite the fact that it always seemed as if the two were prepared to kill one another, she was relieved they were back in each other’s life. Eighteen years was a long time to spend away from - and angry at - some of the only family you had left.

“Oh, are you making macaroni and cheese?” Mary questioned curiously, pulling Kono’s attention out of her own head and allowing her to once again focus on her surroundings. She was grateful for that, because until Mary interrupted, she was very close to leaving the pot full of pasta in front of her alone long enough for it to boil over.

“Yeah,” Kono confirmed. “Your brother turned into a health nut on me while he was overseas, but he will eat three servings of this in one sitting without hesitation. It’s like he thinks his life depends on it or something.”

“My brother eats at the most unhealthy places on this island,” Mary pointed out confusedly, watching as Kono stirred the drained pasta into the cheese sauce she’d already made and left to simmer on another burner.

“He also eats a lot of salad,” Kono pointed out as she finished stirring and flipped off the burner. “My work here is done,” she announced. “Babe! How’re the steaks coming out there?”

“Almost done!” Steve called back. “I’ll be in with them in a few minutes.”

“And I will set the table,” Mary volunteered, taking the plates and utensils from Kono’s hand before the other woman could head for the table in the center of the next room.

“Thank you,” Kono replied gratefully. She went to work tossing the salad Steve had made and left on the counter earlier in the evening. Her fiancé came in just moments later, a plate of steaks in hand. “I reminded you about mine, yeah?”

“Medium-rare,” he confirmed. “Still bloody, but not enough to give you food poisoning.”

“I think I might love you, you know,” she sighed teasingly.

“I hope so, or I’ll have to take that back,” he replied immediately, smiling as he gestured to the ring she wore on her left hand.

“You’re never getting this back,” she returned. She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Ugh,” Mary groaned good-naturedly. “You two are adorable in, like, the most disgusting way.”

“Thanks?” Steve replied, smiling when Kono just laughed. “Yours is ready too, sis,” he told her. “And I just want you to know that I lost a little piece of my soul when I burnt a perfectly good steak.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry I don’t want my food to look like it might start mooing at me again any second,” Mary replied sarcastically.

“Your apology is accepted,” Steve returned with a slight smirk.

“Ignore him,” Kono sighed amusedly. “And leave your baby sister alone,” she scolded her fiancé. “She’s been here a day and you’ve already started making fun of her.”

“Well, yeah. That’s half the fun of having a little sister,” Steve told her, his tone suggesting Kono should already know that.

“It’s fine,” Mary sighed. “He’s making up for two missed decades of pranking me. Whatever.” She followed them to the table, taking the salad with her.

“See? She gets it,” Steve told his fiancée with a wry grin.

Kono simply shook her head.

“So, Mare,” Steve began once they were all settled in at the table, their plates pieced together before them. “What’re you doing in LA, these days?”

“Oh. I, uh, I’ve been waitressing,” she told them. “I also started taking classes at a community college a few months back. I mean, it’s just a class or two a semester, but…” She shrugged. “I like it. Gives me something other than work to focus on, you know?”

Steve nodded. “That’s good, Mare. I’m proud of you. What are you studying?”

“Well, right now, it’s just the basics, but, uh, if I go all the way, I don’t know. I was thinking I’d major in child psychology or something. Try to help kids as soon as they’re in a place where they could end up messed-up, you know?” Mary shrugged. “Deb sent me to a psychologist when I first moved in. It really helped me until I, you know, refused to go.” She shrugged at Kono. “I was a stubborn kid.”

“That’s an understatement,” Steve muttered as he took a bite of his salad. He just smiled when both Kono and his sister shot him exasperated looks.

“What about you two?” Mary Ann asked pointedly, glancing over at Kono. “Have you started planning the wedding yet? My brother tells me nothing.”

“In his defense, there’s really nothing to tell,” Kono replied honestly. “We decided a few weeks back to have it here. We’re thinking late spring, early summer. That’d give us enough time to settle in some more, plan out what we really want. We’ll figure out an exact date soon enough. I’ll make sure you know in plenty of time.”

“Great,” Mary replied brightly. “By the way, did you hear anything from Kamekona? Did he get back with his girlfriend? He was still working on it when I ducked out.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “They’re back together.”

“Good! I’m glad.” Mary Ann smiled at them both. “I really am sorry I worried you, though. It wasn’t the nicest thing I could have done.”

“No,” Steve agreed. “But I get it. No one wants to be locked away, right?”

“Yeah,” Mary Ann sighed. “And that stunt I pulled on the plane - I’m sorry you’re always the one who has to get me out of trouble, Steve. I know that’s not fair to you.”

“You’re my family, Mare,” Steve replied, as if that were the answer to all her questions. Then again, knowing him, he probably assumed it was. “I am never going to leave you out in the cold. That’s not what family does.”

“I know,” Mary murmured. “You just - you sound a lot like Dad, right now. That’s something he’d say.” Her voice broke. “I really miss him.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied just as quietly. “I really miss him, too.”

It was in that moment that their healing finally began. Kono was just glad she was there, able to play witness to it.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“I like your sister,” Kono informed her fiancé as they settled into bed later that night.

“Yeah, she’s a…” Steve shook his head, exhaling heavily. “She’s a riot.”

“I was thinking I’d make her a bridesmaid,” Kono mentioned. “You know, so far I only have Sutton. Unless you wanted her to stand on your side of the aisle.”

“Nope. No, I want to keep her as far away from Danny as I can,” Steve sighed.

“Why?” Kono laughed. “What’s wrong with Danny?”

“Well, there’s a lot wrong with Danny,” Steve responded. “But, in this instance, there was, uh, there was a look.”

“There was a look?” Kono repeated. “What kind of look? What, was your partner flirting with your baby sister or something?”

“I don’t think it was outright flirting, no,” Steve denied. “It was just – it was a look.”

“Honey, they both have eyes,” Kono pointed out, amused. “What were they supposed to do when you introduced them, stare straight ahead and not make eye contact?”

“That would have been preferable, yes,” Steve responded.

Kono shook her head and stared up at the bedroom ceiling. “God help us if we ever have a daughter,” she murmured, then turned to face him again. “Because you’d try to send her straight to the nunnery.”

“Not straight to the nunnery,” he assured her. “I’d wait a few years.”

Kono laughed. “You’re impossible, you know?” she murmured, allowing him to pull her into the circle of his arms.

“Well, yeah,” Steve agreed. “I am. But it’s one of the reasons you love me, right?”

“Yes,” Kono murmured just before her lips brushed against his. “It is one of the very, very many reasons I love you.”

After that, there wasn’t much need for words.


	5. Nalowale

“We are going to teach our kids how to knock a person out with a single punch by the time they’re, like, six,” Kono informed her fiancé as she made her way into their living room at the end of the day. “Hi, Catherine,” she added after a moment, smiling at her fiancé’s friend as she caught sight of her on the sofa, a good two yards away from Steve. And people wondered why she never once believed the two were having some sort of affair. “How’s Billy?”

“He’s good,” Catherine replied with a smile. The naval officer had been seeing Billy Harrington for the better part of the past year, and, from what she had told Kono, their relationship was becoming serious rather quickly. “I’m more interested in what you meant by that previous statement of yours, though. Why teach the kids to resort to violence so early?”

“An ambassador’s daughters were kidnapped,” Steve explained before Kono could. “It’s the case I called for help with, remember? I needed that information so I could track the kid’s father down before he got himself and his little girl killed.” Steve pushed up from the sofa to brush past his fiancé into the kitchen, although not before pressing a kiss to her cheek in greeting.

 “Right, yeah,” Catherine nodded. “I am so glad I ended up breaking the law to help you again,” she teased, smiling over at Kono. “It’s a great way to keep a friendship going.”

“See, I honestly don’t know if you’re being sarcastic right now,” Steve admitted.

“That’s concerning,” Catherine replied seriously, then directed her attention back to Kono. “Everything worked out in the end, I hope? You were able to get the girl and her father back safe?”

“We did,” Kono confirmed. “And we managed to stop the terrorists who’d orchestrated the whole thing in their tracks. I just wish we could’ve figured it all out before Amanda Reeves was murdered and found by a group of tourists riding in a glass-bottom boat. I really hope that kid keeps thinking what he saw was a mermaid. Otherwise, you know, he’ll be traumatized for the rest of his life.”

The other woman winced. “Of course a poor kid was the one to see the body. Just when I think I can’t see people in a worse light,” Catherine muttered, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Kono. That’s awful.”

“Yeah, well, I sort of signed myself up for all of this when I decided to wear a badge,” Kono pointed out with a sigh, collapsing onto the sofa next to the other woman. “It’s just got me on edge, I guess. That ambassador and his wife thought their kids were safe here, and now…” She shrugged. “They’re going back to the Philippines with one of those kids in a casket.”

“Yeah,” Catherine sighed. “Unfortunately, that’s a pretty common story in that world. But you shouldn’t be worrying,” she rushed to assure her friend. “Their world is not your world. And, as important as he makes himself out to be, your fiancé in there does not know the kind of information worth killing over.”

“Thanks for boosting my ego, Cath!” Steve called from the kitchen. “Just for that, I’m going to burn your steak.”

“No, you’re not,” Catherine returned confidently.

“He’s really not,” Kono agreed. “Cooking a steak anywhere past medium makes him die a little inside.”

“Good to know,” Catherine replied amusedly.

Kono sat up straighter on the sofa. “So. How’s work been?” she asked curiously.

“Normal,” Catherine replied. “Nothing to report, really. The only interesting things that’ve happened in the past month are related to your cases, so…”

“Right. Thanks for your help with Dawkins,” Kono said after a moment. “Even if you might have only done it for the free alcohol,” she tacked on after a few moments, shooting Catherine a teasing smile.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that had nothing to do with it, but…” Catherine smiled. “I’m sorry I missed your graduation, by the way. I’m sure it was great.”

“It probably was,” Kono replied. “I wasn’t there. I’d been kidnapped by Serbian nationals.” She smiled and shrugged when Catherine glanced over with wide eyes. “Yeah. It was a - it was a fun week.”

“Steve, why didn’t you tell me your fiancée was kidnapped by Serbian nationals?!”

“Uh,” Steve replied from the kitchen, where he was tossing a salad to go with their steaks, “it never came up?”

“Well, of course it never came up! I never knew to bring it up!” Catherine shook her head and rolled her eyes as she turned back to Kono. “You’re okay, though?” she checked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kono assured her. “I mean, it was a close call there for a minute, what with all the crazy mobsters and their guns, but we managed to diffuse the situation before it became completely critical. We also got the kidnapping victim and his son out safe, which I’m told is always a win.”

“It is,” Catherine nodded in agreement. “I’m glad.” She glanced at her phone when it began vibrating, muttering a stream of expletives under her breath as she read the name flashing across the screen. She talked only briefly with the person on the other end of the line before ending the call and glancing apologetically over at Kono. “I am so sorry, but I’m going to have to take a rain check on dinner. Duty calls.”

“Okay,” Kono replied, used to people being pulled away at the last minute by secretive phone calls. “It was good to see you,” she added as she quickly hugged the other woman. “Try to stop by next time you’re docked, all right?”

“I’ll do my best,” Catherine responded. “Bye, Steve!”

“Bye, Cath!” Steve returned, peeking out of the kitchen. “Drive safe.”

“I will.” With that, Catherine was gone, leaving the couple alone in their home once again.

They ended up eating on the beach, sitting on the sand with their plates in their laps. They discussed their plans for the weekend and their case before they finally got around to talking about the talk he’d had with Danny at the morgue immediately after they caught the case.

“He thought I looked happy,” Steve informed her, amused.

“Well, I did give you plenty of reasons,” Kono teased back as she cut off a chunk of steak and popped it into her mouth. “Though it’s not like you never look happy,” she tacked on after a moment. “It’s not as rare as the solar eclipse or anything. At least, I hope it isn’t.”

“It isn’t,” Steve assured her with a soft smile.

“Good,” she murmured, placing her plate aside after finishing up with her dinner and pressing a kiss to his lips that lingered more than it would’ve if they’d not been alone.

“Not rare at all,” Steve repeated, pushing his own plate aside and tugging her into his arms.

“Steve, you’re going to get sand all over me,” she protested laughingly. “Steve - Steve!” She erupted with laughter as he buried his face against her neck, laughing along with her. “You’re a menace,” she sighed, out of breath when he finally pulled away.

“And you love me,” Steve fired back amusedly.

“I do,” Kono sighed. “God help me, I do.”


	6. Ko'olauloa

She was in the backyard when Steve finally found her, curled up in one of the chairs with her knees hugged against her chest. She was staring out at the ocean, focusing on the water as a means of keeping calm. The waves came and went every so often, and she remembered what it was like when she first took to them, back when she was young and hopeful and oh-so-innocent. Every trace of that person that she’d once been had vanished the very moment Carlton Bass ordered for that trigger to be pulled, killing Ian Adams instantly and right in front of her.

“Hey,” Steve murmured, drawing Kono’s attention away from the waves. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How was the funeral?”

“It was fine,” she whispered back. “It was what Ian would’ve wanted, at least. We returned him to the water.” She sighed, shaking her head. “They were best friends, you know. Ian considered Carlton his brother. He was Ben’s biological father. I mean, I know it must’ve hurt, finding out his late wife had slept with his best friend, but - he _killed_ him over it, Steve. He took his son’s _father_ away. What kind of person _does_ something like that?”

“One who doesn’t deserve anything good he ever got in life,” Steve murmured back. “Bass is going to pay for what he did to Ian, Kono. And to Ben. He’s going to rot for it.”

“I know,” Kono muttered. “I just don’t know if that’s enough.” She stared back out at the ocean. “I am who I am in part because of him. I mean, most of it’s because of Pat, but there’s parts of me that Ian is directly responsible for. I didn’t know how much I loved the water until he signed me to Coral Prince. In a way, he’s the reason I discovered the first dream I ever had. And now, he’s just - he’s just gone.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered again. He came around the chair to face her, crouching down in front of her. “I’m so sorry, Kono. I’m sorry you had to see what happened. I’m sorry about all of it.”

She sniffled, shaking her head. “Not your fault.”

“I know,” he responded gently. “I wish I could’ve protected you from it, though.”

“You can’t protect me from everything,” she pointed out quietly.

“Yeah, as you and the world keep reminding me,” he responded, laughing dryly. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to, though.”

“Yeah. I know.” She smiled sadly at him. “I’m sorry too. About your dad. I never realized how awful it is, knowing the second it happens that it just - it happened. I didn’t find out about my dad until there was nothing left to do. But being there? Seeing it with my own eyes?” She shook her head. “It was - God, it was terrible, Steve.”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry.” He leaned up slightly, pressing a lingering kiss to her tear-stained cheek. “Hey. I made dinner. You should eat. It might make you feel better.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, her eyes drifting closed. “I’ll be in in a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay,” Steve agreed easily. “Hey.” He smiled at her when she opened her eyes. “I love you.”

“Yeah,” she murmured back. “Love you too.”

 

She did eventually go inside to eat dinner. He sat with her in silence until she was ready to speak, and she loved him all the more for it.

“I told Ian about you,” she admitted finally. “A few months after we met. He wanted to meet you. Said it sounded like he’d like you.” She bit on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry I never got around to making that introduction.”

Steve scoffed humorlessly. “Not like there was much of a chance for it. You and I barely saw each other when I was active duty, much less other people.”

“Still.” Kono set her fork down. “I would’ve liked for you two to have known each other. Or, you know, to have at least met. It’s like I said. Other than my dad, Patrick, and Chin Ho, Ian was probably the most responsible for the way I turned out.”

“I’ll have to figure out a way to get a thank-you message up there to him, then,” Steve commented wryly, smiling when she laughed quietly. “Or I could talk to the ocean,” he suggested. “His favorite place, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed. “It was.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rest against the back of her chair. “I really want to stop burying people,” she murmured after a moment. “My dad, your dad, Freddie, Ian…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “The people who are trying to do the right thing keep dying on us, and I’m starting to get really tired of it. Correction. I’ve always been really tired of it. It’s just getting worse as I get older, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, his fingers brushing against the top of her hand. “We’ll figure it out, though. Things are eventually going to turn around.”

“You really believe that?” Kono asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Steve promised. “I really do.”

“Then this is a very surprising turn of events, because I’m usually the optimistic one in this relationship,” Kono laughed self-deprecatingly.

“I don’t mind carrying the house for today,” he murmured, smiling at her when she glanced up to meet his eyes. “Everyone has a few off-days every once in a while, huh? You take as long as you need. Plus, you know, my newfound optimism will totally annoy Danny.”

Kono smiled, shaking her head. “Is your only goal in life at this point to annoy your partner?”

“Well, yes,” Steve admitted. “To annoy him, to marry you. It’s really all I’m working towards at this point.”

“Speaking of that.” Kono nodded towards the backyard. “I want to have our reception on the beach.”

“Okay,” he murmured back. “What made you think about that?”

“Ian, my dad, they both loved the water,” she explained. “And your parents - they lived in this house, they raised you and Mary in this house. I just - I don’t know. It’ll make me feel like they’re all here, even though they’re really not. I don’t want to get sand on my dress,” she added after a moment, making him smile. “It wouldn’t do the pictures any good. But the reception? I want them to be there with us every second of that night. Between the house and the beach, it'll feel like they are." 

Steve cleared his throat. “When you put it like that - I like it,” he concluded, smiling sadly. “And they would, too.”

“Yeah?” she murmured.

“Yeah,” he responded.

It was all the reassurance she needed. “Okay,” she murmured. “Then we’re having the reception on the beach. There’s another thing we can tell your sister we’ve checked off the list next time we see her.”

“Okay,” he repeated, his hand reaching across the table to grasp hers.

 In that moment, Kono was pretty sure he was the only one holding her in place. That was okay with her. She knew he’d never let go.


	7. Ho'apono

“You know, next time you decide it’s a good idea to climb aboard a boat where seven people are being held captive by a man off his meds and wielding a knife, it’d be really nice if I could get more than ten seconds’ notice.”

Steve and Kono were seated in the small waiting room of King’s Medical Center, waiting for McKay to finish being patched up. After learning that the man had no family on the island, Kono had been insistent that they remain with him until the doctors had finished stitching him back together. He’d tried to help her fiancé again and again throughout the day, after all. It really did seem like the least that they could do.

Steve sighed, his head falling back against the wall with a dull thud. “I wouldn’t have done that if there’d been any other way,” he reminded her yet again. “The guy was unstable. He had hostages. I had to do something.”

“The guy was unstable and he had hostages, so you had to give him another one?” Kono asked rhetorically. “Graham Wilson didn’t murder his wife, Steve. Your hunch about him was right. But what if it hadn’t been? What if it isn’t the next time a case like this one gets thrown our way? Not every SEAL is like you or Freddie or any of the other guys you served. They all went through BUD/S. That doesn’t mean they all went in or came out decent.” She exhaled deeply. “I didn’t think I would ever worry about you more than I did during all those months you spent overseas, and then today happened. I almost lost my mind when you were with Wilson. That wasn’t exactly a period of my life I was just itching to relive.”

“I know,” Steve murmured. “I know, and I’m sorry I put you through that again…”

“Don’t be sorry you put me through it,” Kono huffed exasperatedly. “I’m not mad that you did it. I know who I’m marrying. It’s not that you went onboard that’s bugging me. It’s that you didn’t even let us try to think up a better idea before you did it. You have a team now, Steve. You’re not the lone SEAL anymore. Eventually, you’re going to have to learn to rely on us as much as we rely on you.”

Steve blinked. “You’re very passionate about this.”

“Of course I am. I can’t marry you next year if you are no longer alive,” she reminded him pointedly. “I know you think you know best. And, like I said, you were right about Graham. But I have a feeling that he’s the exception, not the rule. The next time, the hostage-taker probably won’t be so friendly. And I would - I would just really appreciate it if you’d let us at least think before throwing yourself directly into the crosshairs, that’s all. Okay?”

“I think I can do that,” Steve agreed.

“Great!” She leaned over to press a grateful kiss to his lips, only pulling away when the man they’d come with cleared his throat in front of them. “Sorry. Hi,” she greeted with an embarrassed smile. “Thank you for watching this one’s back today. I don’t think I ever got around to saying that, back when we first met.”

“Oh, there’s no need to thank me for doing what needed to be done,” the retired sailor assured her. “His grandfather did the same for many men when he served in the Harbor. It was an honor to work alongside another McGarrett. And you must be the girl he was talking about. Kono, right?” He smiled when she nodded. “He made it known that he finds you much less annoying than his partner.”

Kono smiled at that, amused. “Well, he finds most people less annoying than his partner, so I’ll have to take that one with a grain of salt,” she replied. “But thanks.” She stood from her seat to shake his hand. “And thank you for your service,” she added after a moment.

McKay’s smile grew slightly sadder as he shook his head. “Like I said, there’s no need to thank me for doing what needed to be done.”

They dropped the veteran off at his home, making sure he made it safely inside, and then returned to their own. Kono went to work at the stove, heating some chicken in a skillet, while Steve tossed a salad together at the counter. They worked and ate in relative silence, neither feeling the need to say much of anything.

After dinner, they ended up on the sofa, beers in hand and some mindless romantic comedy playing in the background. It was a while before either of them spoke. Unsurprisingly, she was the one to break their silence.

“I’m not trying to boss you around,” she murmured. “I know that running in first and asking questions later is how you’ve always done things. I’m not trying to change you, okay? I swear.”

“I know,” he assured her, his arm looping around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. His lips brushed against her hair as he waited for her to continue.

“I know it’s unfair to keep blaming things on my dad’s death, but…” She trailed off with a sigh. “That’s really what it all goes back to. You told me once that you dreaded it every time I climbed behind the wheel of a car late at night, because of what’d happened to your mother.”

“Yeah,” Steve confirmed heavily, his eyes filling with that ancient pain she still couldn’t quite comprehend when she tilted her head back to stare up at him.

“Yeah.” She shrugged helplessly, then continued. “I worry about you every time you go in, guns blazing, because of what happened to my dad. And I know that’s not healthy and it’s not logical and it’s - well, it is and isn’t a lot of things, but I can’t stop. I can’t not worry about you. And sometimes, that leads me to show that worry in not-so-good ways. Like by, I don’t know, almost starting a screaming match in a hospital waiting room.”

Steve smirked at that. “I get it,” he assured her. “I know what you went through with your dad. I just sometimes don’t think that I’m making you go through the same thing.”

“It’s not the same thing,” she whispered. “I’m in love with you. I always worry about you. I don’t know if I can change that.” She shrugged again. “I will try my best not to panic next time, though.”

“All right. Baby steps.” Steve pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Slow and steady wins the race, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she murmured back, her face buried in his chest. For the first time since he’d climbed aboard that boat, she felt truly at peace. And oh, what a nice feeling it was.

“You did a good job with the little girl,” he murmured after a moment.

“I got her kidnapped,” Kono reminded him humorlessly. “That’s not exactly doing a good job.”

“Yeah, but you got her back,” Steve pointed out. “You went to every length to make sure she got home safely to her family. Sometimes, Kono, you can’t control what happens when you’re doing this job. Most of the time, you can’t control anything. The only thing you can control is the way you react to it. Today, you reacted the way you needed to, and that little girl’s safe at home with her aunt tonight because of you.”

“Because of all of us,” Kono corrected gently.

Steve smiled against her hair. “Okay, because of all of us,” he amended.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kono said after a moment, waiting until he nodded before continuing. “How did you know so quickly that Graham wasn’t responsible for his wife’s death?”

Steve smiled sadly. “We see enough awful scenarios in the field,” he murmured back. “We’re not exactly eager to come home and make them for ourselves, you know? Plus, he loved his wife. He loved his little girl. Someone who cares that deeply about somebody – anybody – isn’t capable of what was done to that woman.”

“So, you actually had reasons to trust him?” Kono asked, surprised.

“There are very few people I follow into battle blindly,” he replied. “And he was not going to be moved up to the top of the list. So, yeah, I had reasons to believe he was innocent. I’m just glad I was right about him.”

“Yeah, so am I,” Kono murmured. “I didn’t want to be a widow before I ever became a wife.” She held up a hand to silence him before he could speak. “Don’t start with me. You know what I meant.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured, pulling her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her palm. “I did.” He released her hand so that it fell once again to rest against his chest, then covered it gently with his own.

They fell asleep like that, wrapped up in each other, and both awoke with cricks in their necks. It was worth it. To them, it always was.


	8. Mana'o

“Hi,” Steve greeted quietly, pressing a kiss to the side of Kono’s head as he came to stand behind her. “How’s it going?”

Kono exhaled heavily as she leaned back into his arms. “About as well as can be expected. Danny ducked out about ten minutes ago. Chin’s with him now,” she reported. “Amy took Billy upstairs. All the noise and commotion was starting to get to him, I think.” She shook her head. “Today has been the worst, and I was never even in the thick of it. That little boy… I want to punch Cage in the face for all the crap he put this family through.”

“Yeah,” Steve muttered. “Let me know if you end up following through on that one. I’ll be right there with you.” He pressed another kiss to the back of her head. “You want to go hunt down the others, see if they’re about ready to go, hit Side Street on the way home? I mean, I don’t think being here is doin’ Danny any good, at this point. He’s just about ready to knock out the teeth of every IA detective.”

“In his defense, I think we’re all about ready to do that.” She turned in his arms and smiled sadly up at him. “Let’s go track them down, get out of here.”

“All right,” Steve agreed, taking her by the hand and holding her carefully through the throngs of people still gathered.

It didn’t take them long to find Danny and Chin, as the two men hadn’t ventured far. They were seated on the small back porch, conversing quietly about something. Danny glanced up when he heard the tell-tale click of Kono’s pumps behind him. Chin did the same, following his coworker’s gaze to smile at his cousin.

“Hey,” Steve said, his hand falling to the small of Kono’s back as he instinctively guided her closer.

“Hey,” Danny replied quietly. “What are you two, uh, what are you doing? You should be out there, I don’t know, getting drunk off your asses, having fun. Meka would want everyone to be having fun.”

“You’re not having fun,” Kono pointed out. Her head fell to rest on Steve’s shoulder when Danny simply shrugged.

“I’m not trying to be the life of the party, here.” He sighed quietly. “Has, uh, has anyone seen Amy? I want to tell her goodbye before I leave. I’m going to go get Gracie from Stan and Rachel’s place. I asked Rachel for an extra day, and she agreed, so.”

“Yeah,” Kono murmured. “She and Billy went up to his room a little while ago. He was getting upset, so she said she was going to read him a story.”

“Okay.” Danny nodded. “Thanks.” He pushed away from the table and moved to stand. “By the way, I wanted to thank you all for coming. I know you’re all busy people.”

“There was nothing more important than this going on, brah,” Chin told him, standing up and slapping him on the shoulder as he moved past.

“Yeah, man,” Steve agreed, flashing his friend a sad smile. “Nowhere else any of us would’ve been.”

“Yeah, well, still. Thanks,” Danny repeated, smiling at them both as he passed them. “See you all at the office tomorrow, yeah?”

“Well, you don’t have to…” Steve trailed off when his partner shot him an unimpressed look. “Yeah, Danno,” he conceded with a sigh. “See you bright and early tomorrow.”

Danny nodded, smiled at Kono and Chin, and then made his way into the house.

“I think I’m going to go ahead and head out, too,” Chin told them. “It’s getting pretty late, and I promised my mother I’d make it home for dinner.”

“Okay,” Kono replied. “Drive safe, all right? Oh, and tell Auntie I say hello.”

Her cousin nodded before leaving the same way Danny had, leaving Steve and Kono to stand there and stare after them.

“Well,” Kono sighed, “I guess no one wants to go to Side Street.”

“No,” Steve murmured back. “I guess not. Maybe we should go home instead.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed, reaching for his hand and interlacing her fingers with his. “Let’s do that.”

They drove home in silence, practically collapsing onto the sofa once they were inside. “I hate today so much,” she murmured against his neck after he pulled her into the circle of his arms.

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, pressing his lips to the side of her head. “Me, too.”

“It was personal for reasons other than Danny, you know?” she continued. “Meka was murdered by his own partner. Kaleo killed him in cold blood over – over money. He killed him because Meka believed in doing the right thing.”

“Right.” Steve lifted a hand to run his fingers through her hair. “Your dad. I’m sorry, Kono. I didn’t – I didn’t even think about that. I should’ve…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I should have realized sooner. You shouldn’t have had to deal with that. Not on top of everything else.”

“Steve, one of your best friends was mourning the loss of one of _his_ best friends,” Kono pointed out gently. “And it’s not like I was exactly making it easy for you to see that I was in pain. I’ve gotten a lot better at hiding things over the years.”

“Yeah. I know. I hate it,” Steve admitted, making her smile.

“I just can’t believe Cage had the nerve to show up at the wake. If I’d been Amy and someone had just accused my dead husband of being dirty, I would have shot that person on sight if they walked into his wake. Wouldn’t even hesitate.”

Steve chuckled at that. “Oh, I know you wouldn’t.” He sighed quietly. “I should’ve believed Danny.”

“You did, when it mattered,” she pointed out.

“It mattered in the beginning,” he muttered. “If someone came to me now and accused Freddie of being dirty, I’d strangle them right then and there. I don’t know why I didn’t realize Danny sees Meka the same way I see Freddie.”

“It’s a lot easier to see things clearly when you’re not right in the middle of them, babe,” she told him.

“I guess,” he replied softly, his fingers tangling in her hair once again as she curled closer to his side.

“Hey,” she murmured after a moment.

“Yeah?” he responded just as quietly.

“If I fall asleep, will you carry me upstairs?”

Steve chuckled tiredly. “Of course.”

“Good,” she murmured. It was the last thing that she remembered before slipping off into sleep.


	9. Po'ipu

“So,” Kono sighed as she came to stand by her fiance, surveying the damage Nick Taylor and his friends had left behind. “I can’t say that I love what they did to the place. Is there a wall they _didn’t_ put holes in?”

“Not one that I’ve found,” Steve sighed in response, running a hand down his face tiredly. “I’m sorry about all this,” he muttered, gesturing to the mess left behind by the would-be assassins.

“Why are you apologizing?” Kono asked confusedly. “It’s not like you _asked_ them to destroy our house. They decided to do this all on their own.”

Steve shook his head. “I know they did, it’s just - I should have known, Kono. I worked with Nick for _years_ in Afghanistan. If I’d been paying attention, the way I should have been, I would have been able to see through his facade, and none of this would’ve happened.”

“It’s like I’ve told you a thousand times, babe. No one blames you for not being clairvoyant. They might teach a lot of classes at Annapolis, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the focus of _any_ of them. I don’t think you’re at fault for any of this. All you did was trust your friend. You should have been able to do that.” She reached for his hand, squeezing lightly. “C’mon. I’m still paying rent on my apartment until the lease goes out at the end of the year. We can stay there tonight.”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve sighed in agreement, allowing himself to be pulled along and led into the house.

It didn’t take them long to pack enough to get them through the next few days. If not for the fact that there were still possibly people who wanted them dead for thwarting Taylor’s assassination plot, they would’ve had no issue sleeping in the house, holes in the walls and all. With so many unknown variables, however, they weren’t too keen on the possibility of becoming sitting ducks in the privacy of their own home.

Kono’s apartment wasn’t large, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was functional, and there weren’t any murderers who knew of its exact location. She unlocked the front door and allowed him to step inside before closing and locking it behind them, still too paranoid after the events of the past few hours to really sleep easy without taking every precaution, even if she lived in one of the safest neighborhoods Honolulu had to offer.

“So,” Kono sighed as she collapsed onto the sofa next to him after searching her fridge. “I have no food. We’re going to have to order in. Chinese okay?”

“Mm,” Steve murmured in agreement, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and tugging her into his side. She smiled as his lips brushed against her hair while she dialed the number and placed their order.

“It’ll be here in half an hour,” she reported once she’d finished up with her phone call. “I’ve been paying my cable bill, too, so we could probably hunt down a Christmas movie, if you wanted.”

“Why have you been paying all your bills?” Steve asked curiously as he reached for the remote. “You haven’t spent a single night here since I came home.”

“Hannah sometimes stays here when classes run late,” Kono explained tiredly. “And since Mom still refuses to accept that we’re living together, she also refuses to help Hannah pay the bills. I told her she’ll have to figure it out once January rolls around, but until then…” She shrugged. “I still see her as my baby sister, you know? I’m going to help out as much as I can.”

Steve nodded. “Well, I’ve always liked Hannah,” he told her after a moment. “She’s the only one who has ever approved of us being together.”

“It’s not like the others disapprove, it’s just - well, it’s complicated.” Kono curled closer to his side so she could more comfortably rest her head against his chest. “Hey,” she mumbled after a few moments. “I just want you to know, your taste in friends has gotten significantly better since you chose Nick.”

“Yeah?” he asked, amused. “You don’t think any of the others are going to try to kill me, huh?”

“Well, I mean, if you keep making fun of Danny’s New Jersey postcard, he might _try_ , but…” She smiled when he laughed quietly. “No. I don’t think they’re going to try to kill us. You have made much better choices recently.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed quietly. “Other than Cath, the only good choice I made in the friends department back at the beginning of my career was Freddie.”

Kono smiled sadly. “He was a good friend to have, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured in agreement, his fingers slowly stroking up and down her arm. “He sure was.” He laughed shortly. “He would’ve been right there beside us tonight, helping however he could. I mean, he hated Pak. _Hated_ him. But he also hated people who said one thing just to turn around and do the other.” Steve blinked. “That _might_ be the reason he always hated Taylor.”

Kono patted his arm. “I hate to tell you this, babe, but you’re the only one who _didn’t_ always hate Taylor.” She shrugged when Steve stared down at her, confusion shining in his gaze. “He called you _Mad Dog_ , babe. What can I say? Sometimes I’m a jealous person.”

“I gained that reputation a long time before I ever met you,” he assured her with a smirk.

“Oh, I know,” she replied confidently. “If you hadn’t, your face would no longer look so pretty.”

Steve cleared his throat. “You know, sometimes you scare me,” he admitted, though his tone still held no small amount of amusement.

“I know,” she mumbled back, her voice muffled by the fabric of his plaid shirt. “I’m told it’s a good thing in any healthy marriage.”

“Yeah,” Steve muttered back, his smirk obvious as he began to run his fingers through her curls. “I think you might be onto something with that one, babe.”

“I always am,” she responded, just before she fell asleep.

She was only able to rest for fifteen minutes before the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of their very late dinner. Steve gently lifted her from her place draped atop him to rest her gently against the sofa so that he could go greet the delivery person waiting on the other side of the door, whilst Kono headed for the kitchen to hunt for glasses in her mostly empty cupboards. By the time she’d finally chased some down, Steve was back with the food.

“Hey,” she said a few minutes later, when there were plates full of food in front of them both at her kitchen table. She held up her glass as if to toast. “I’m really glad we didn’t die today.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured, clinking his own glass against hers. “Me, too.”

And, really, on a night such as that, wasn’t that all that needed to be said between two people who knew each other so well?

 


	10. Heihei

“Hey,” Kono greeted cheerfully as Steve made his way into the kitchen that evening.

“Hey,” Steve sighed back, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as he made his way to the fridge to grab a beer. “Something smells good,” he commented after a few moments. “You making dinner over there?”

“Ah. Well, my mother sent over a book of recipes,” Kono explained. “I’m just trying a few of them out.” She finished stirring the concoction in the nearest pot, then turned down the burner. “How’s Danny doing?” she asked, turning to face him after making sure everything else was still under control. “Did it seem like he was any better off when you left him?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I’ve never been divorced. I don’t exactly know how to help someone who still seems to be right in the middle of one. They haven’t been together in years, Kono. I have no idea what about her it is that keeps him frozen in place.”

“She’s the love of his life,” Kono answered, her back turned to him once again as she moved the chicken about in the skillet to keep it from burning. “I guarantee you, if you ever divorced me, I wouldn’t move on that easily, if at all.”

“Neither would I, but Kono, you weren’t there. Those two didn’t fight like people who had ever been in love, let alone people who still are.” He took another long swallow of his beer. “I hate not knowing how to help,” he admitted lowly. “I mean, he’s my partner. Shouldn’t I know what to say to him at this point?”

“Well, Danny’s still hurting. That means it’s probably best to approach him like a wounded animal. Can you hand me that plate, please?” she requested, smiling gratefully when he did as asked. “Thank you. Anyway, he’s in a bad place,” she continued. “And as good of a friend as you are, you can’t pull him out by yourself. He has to want to leave.”

“Mm. So, I guess you wouldn’t agree to my plan that we set him up with one of your friends?” Steve checked.

“Nope. But ten points for creativity. There’s a salad in the fridge, if you want to get it out. This is just about ready.” She gave the red rice a final stir, then stood back to stare proudly at the meal before her. “So, I know it’s my mother’s recipe and all, but I did not completely ruin it, and I think I deserve points for that.”

“You absolutely do,” Steve agreed. “Great job, babe,” he said, placing the bowl of salad he’d just removed from the fridge on the counter and pulling her into his arms, his lips pressing against hers for a few moments before she finally pulled away.

“Thanks, but I’d really rather it didn’t get cold,” she replied teasingly, patting his cheek as she made her way past to retrieve the rest of the dishes from the stove.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve sighed amusedly, carrying the salad over to the table and then returning to help her with the rest. “So, how was your afternoon?” he asked once they’d settled into their seats. “Was your mother as judgemental as she always is?”

“A little less so, surprisingly,” Kono sighed. “She asked about the wedding plans. She wanted to go dress-shopping,” she groaned, causing Steve to grin behind his fork as he lifted a piece of chicken to his mouth. “Oh, I’m so glad you find it amusing,” she muttered, smiling herself. “I will not be subjected to that particular sort of torture, though,” she informed him. “Hannah offered to make my dress and veil herself. My sister may eat all our food whenever she visits, but other than that, she’s just about as close to an angel sent from above as my family’s got to offer.”

“Sounds like it,” Steve agreed. “Your mother’s not going to make me go shopping for a tux with her, is she?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Kono assured him. “I know you’ve been trained to withstand many types of torture, but I’d never in a million years put you through a kind so awful. I love you too much for that.”

“Oh, thank God,” Steve sighed with relief. “I was really worried for a second there.”

“Most people are when the idea of spending so much time with my mother enters their minds.” Kono took a bite of her chicken. “I am very relieved to report that I did not completely ruin this meal. It is nothing like my first attempt at spaghetti after moving out.”

“Yeah, I’m still a little surprised that you didn’t know which pot to pour into which pot,” Steve admitted, amused.

“Oh, shut up,” she huffed. “You made enough fun of me for that back when it first happened.” It’d been during one of the many Christmases they’d spent apart, several years before. He’d been on the phone with her when she’d attempted pasta for the first time without her mother present. Needless to say, it hadn’t exactly gone as well as it could have. “And every time I made pasta afterwards.”

“I couldn’t help it, babe, you’re so cute when you’re flustered,” he told her, smiling when she shot him an unimpressed look. “And, you know, all the time,” he assured her when her glare didn’t lessen. “You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, you know?”

“You tell me at least once a day,” she sighed, taking another bite of her red rice with a wry smile. “And it never fails to get you out of trouble.”

“Yeah, well, I say it because it’s true, not because it gets me out of trouble,” he promised her. “Although that second thing isn’t the worst in the world, either. Hey!” he laughed when she tossed a grain of rice at him. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?”

“Yes, she did,” Kono told him. “She also told me never to sleep in the same bed as a man unless I was married to him, so if you want me to follow my mother’s rules and leave you alone tonight…”

“That’s not necessary,” Steve rushed to assure her, shaking his head exasperatedly when she smirked across the table at him. “You’re a very cruel woman, Kono Kalakaua,” he informed her sternly, the only thing giving him away the smile curling his lips upwards at the corners.

“Yeah, and you wouldn’t want me any other way,” she told him confidently.

“No,” he confirmed, his eyes softening as they met hers. “I really wouldn’t.”


	11. Palekaiko

It was silent in the house when Kono returned home from her brother’s house that afternoon. At first, she’d figured Steve was still at the office, but the door leading out to the beach was open, and since they hadn’t been out there the previous day - nor were either of them careless enough to allow just anyone entrance into their home - she knew he must’ve managed to beat her home and immediately ventured out to the water. The only thing she didn’t know for sure was why he’d done so.

He was sitting upright in a chair when she found him, a fishing line he wasn’t paying much attention to cast out into the water. His focus was on the waves, and the pain in his dark eyes was as deep as the ocean before him. It was in that moment that, for the first time in a long time, Kono had no idea what to say to the man who was soon to be her husband.

She had to start somewhere, though, and she wouldn’t be able to solve all his problems with a simple greeting, so instead of overthinking it, she simply settled on, “Hey,” and drew closer.

Steve glanced away from the water to flash her a forced smile. “Hey,” he returned. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come home, or I would’ve helped you with that.” He nodded to the grocery bags she still held in her hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” she assured him. “Is everything okay? I, uh, I know you had your meeting with Chin about that case number you found in your dad’s stuff, and you didn’t call afterward, so I just…” She trailed off when he inhaled deeply. “I just wanted to make sure you’re alright,” she finished lamely.

“Yeah. Uh, well, Chin’s Archives guy got back to him,” Steve confirmed. “The case my dad was looking into was opened on April 19, 1992. The day my mother died,” he clarified when her eyes widened slightly.

“No, I know,” she breathed quietly. “So, what, your father was looking at your mother’s accident report right before he died?”

Steve exhaled slowly. “Yeah. Except, according to Chin, the paperwork filed that day wasn’t for an accident report. It was to, uh, open a homicide investigation.”

“What?” Kono whispered, sinking into the chair next to him. “So, what, your mother didn’t die in a car accident? She was murdered?”

“Seems like it, yeah,” Steve confirmed hollowly.

Kono blinked once. “Wow. That’s - that’s awful. Steve, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah.” Steve’s eyes moved back to the ocean. “I’ve been sitting out here pretty much ever since he told me, trying to figure out who would want my mother dead, and I - I just have no idea,” he admitted quietly. “I mean, she taught English to middle-schoolers, for God’s sake. She baked cookies on the weekend. What reason could anyone have for wanting to kill a woman like that in cold blood?”

“Monsters don’t always need reasons, Steve,” Kono reminded him gently. “Sometimes, they just do awful things because they can. They don’t care who they’re hurting in the process.”

“No, I know. I’m just…” Steve trailed off, shaking his head and laughing humorlessly. “I’m going to have to call my little sister and tell her about this. And if I don’t have answers for myself, I’m not going to have them for her, so I just - I need to think. I need to figure this out before I drop it at her feet, you know? Losing Mom the way we’ve always thought we did was awful enough, but this way is - it’s so much worse, you know?”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed, her hand finding his. Their fingers intertwined. “I do know.”

Steve groaned. “Oh, God, I’ve been sitting here talking about this, and I forgot about what happened to your dad. I’m - I’m sorry, Kono.”

“Hey, don’t,” she scolded gently. “You’re the one whose world just fell apart around him, all right? You don’t need to apologize for feeling that.” She glanced out at the ocean. “We’re going to find the person who killed your mother,” she promised him. “We owe that to her. We owe that to _you_ , after all you’ve done for us.” She looked over at him, her dark eyes wide with honesty. “Hey. I love you, you know that?”

“Yeah,” he promised her, lifting their joint hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to each of her fingertips. “I do. I love you, too, you know.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, her fingers tightening around his. “I do.”

With that, they both turned back to the ocean.

-o-o-o-o-o-

He took her to the cemetery the following day, a bouquet of roses in his hand. He stopped in front of a headstone after a brisk walk, and Kono glanced down at the words engraved into it as her fiancé bent down to place the roses in front of it.

_Doris Ann McGarrett_   
_1948 – 1992_   
_Beloved Wife and Mother_

“Hi, Mom,” Steve murmured, clearing his throat. “Sorry I haven’t been out here much since I came home. I, uh, don’t really have a good excuse.” He blinked once, then continued. “Dad’s gone now. He was killed a few months back. I’m sure you know that by now, though. I mean, he’s up there with you.”

“I caught the man who killed him, Mom, but I don’t think that’s enough anymore. This is bigger than I thought it was. And I just – I’m sorry. For not knowing. I’m sorry I didn’t fight for justice for you as hard as I did for him, because you deserve it just as much.” He turned slightly to smile sadly up at Kono. She simply laid a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to continue.

“I’m getting married,” he told the headstone. “You’d like her, Mom. She’s – she gives me a run for my money every day. Keeps me on my toes. Loves me even at my most idiotic. She’s everything you ever wanted for me when I was a kid.” He drew in a deep breath. “And she’s willing to stand behind me while I try to figure out what went down eighteen years ago, which, you know, makes her either loyal or crazy.”

“I prefer to think it makes me loyal _and_ crazy,” Kono interjected.

“Oh, okay.” Steve turned back to the stone. “You hear that, Mom? She’s both.”

“Hi, Mrs. McGarrett,” Kono murmured as she settled next to him on the ground. “I just want you to know that you raised a pretty great son. He’s one of the best men I’ve ever known. I would have loved to be able to meet you. If you can raise two kids as good as the ones you did, then you must’ve been one great lady.”

Steve smiled sadly at that. “She was.” He turned back to the stone. “You were, Mom,” he reiterated. “I promise that I’m going to get the guy who put you here, all right? I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you. For what he did to Dad and me and Mare, too. I promise.” He glanced towards Kono again. “You ready?”

“Are you?” Kono questioned seriously.

“Yeah.” Steve nodded as he glanced back at the stone again. “I think I am.”

“Okay.” Kono pushed herself up and then reached for his hand. “Then let’s go home.”

He stood, his fingers immediately finding hers. “Let’s go home,” he repeated.

Their fingers intertwined as they turned for the parking lot and walked away.  


	12. Hana 'a'a Makehewa

“So,” Danny sighed as he settled into the chair across from Kono, sliding a beer bottle across the table and nodding when she smiled and murmured her thanks, “what are you and Super SEAL doing here so late? Don’t you have nieces to be spending the evening with? Or does your family not do the whole, you know, commercialized portion of this holy holiday?”

Kono laughed quietly at the strange wording of the question. “No, we do gifts,” she assured him. “But my brother and sister-in-law, they took the girls to be with her parents this Christmas. My sisters are both on the mainland, too, which means we’d just be spending the holiday with my mom. And I love her. God, I love her, but…” She trailed off with a smirk. “Being around her does not exactly fill me with Christmas spirit, that’s all.”

“Ah. Yeah, Steve told me what she thinks of the living situation,” Danny admitted, taking a long swallow of his own beer. “Let me ask you something. Has she always been so judgmental of your choices, or did it start at the same time your relationship with Rambo over there did?”

Kono glanced over at Steve with a fond smile. “He has nothing to do with it,” she assured their coworker when she looked back at him. “My mother doesn’t like things she can’t control, that’s all. And ever since I became one of those things, well, we’ve had a lot of differences of opinion. Her breaking point with me came the day I told her I was going to the Academy.”

“Most parents are proud of that,” Danny pointed out. “I mean, mine were.”

“Most parents are proud of that,” Kono agreed. “But most parents also aren’t the widows of dead cops.” She shrugged at the sympathetic look he shot her. “It is what it is. My dad died the way he died. And I might’ve been only six when it happened, but I know enough to trust that he wouldn’t have wanted me to base the way I lived around the way he died, you know?”

Danny glanced over at Grace. “Yeah,” he agreed. “No father would want that.”

Kono followed his gaze and smiled sadly. “If she has any sort of problem with Steve, I think it goes back to me being a cop. He supported me when I wanted to take the exam, and he didn’t try to talk me out of it when I passed and was accepted into the Academy. The fact that he is now my boss is really just the cherry on top for my mother. Gives her that extra reason to always be angry with him.”

“Your mother - I’m sorry, Kono, but she sounds like a piece of work,” Danny admitted after a few moments of silence.

“She can be,” Kono sighed, smiling at Steve as he glanced away from the children’s movie their teammate’s daughter had roped him into watching. He beamed back at her, his eyes shining, and she realized it’d been a long time since she’d seen him so happy to be around other people. It was a nice thing to bear witness to. She then turned back to Danny. “But she tries her best, you know? And sometimes, that’s all you can ask a person to do.”

Danny nodded once. “Yeah. I mean, I get it.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I’ve said this to you before, but Kono, I’m really sorry about your dad. I mean, no one - no one should have to grow up without their father in their life.”

Kono didn’t miss the way his eyes darted back to his own little girl, his lips turning upwards as the sounds of her joyous laughter filled his ears. She smiled herself, Grace’s happiness proving to be somewhat contagious. “Yeah, well, I never saw it that way,” she explained when her eyes once again met his. “My dad died making sure this island would be a safe place for me to live. He’s never not been my hero.”

Steve came over after a moment, a beer bottle dangling from his fingertips as he sank into the chair next to Kono at the table. He wrapped his free arm around the back of Kono’s chair to pull her closer, pressing his lips to the side of her temple when she was close enough. “You two are not in the holiday spirit,” he reprimanded lightly, the words little more than a murmur against her skin.

“Yeah, okay,” Danny sighed, pushing away from the table. “I like the two of you and all, but you are getting to that disgustingly gooey point, and I don’t want to play witness to that. I’m going to go watch _Home Alone_ with my kid. You feel free to join us as soon as you’re once again only appropriately gooey, yes?”

“All right, Danny,” Kono sighed amusedly, her fingers tangling with Steve’s. “Hey,” she murmured softly. “How’s your Christmas going? Is Danny’s crappy apartment any better than a war zone?”

“Well, by itself, only marginally,” he whispered conspiratorially, making her laugh quietly. “But you’re here, and that’s really what makes all the difference.” He nodded over to his partner. “Is everything okay with him? What were the two of you talking about?”

“My mother,” she replied quietly, grinning when he winced quietly at the explanation. “My dad. What holidays turn into when you’re missing people you don’t think you should be missing. You know. The usual.”

Steve nodded slowly. “I know you don’t want to spend the holidays with your mother. She ruins your Christmas spirit; I get that. But, if you wanted to stop by…” He trailed off. “Kono, I love you. I want to help you through everything, but I didn’t know your dad. So, if you feel like you need to talk to someone who did…”

“I don’t want to stop by my mom’s place,” she assured him. “But there is one place I’d like to go before the night’s over, if you’re up for it.”

Steve’s answer was instantaneous. “Of course. Always.”

 

-o-o-o-o-o-

 

The cemetery’s parking lot was virtually empty when they arrived after leaving Danny’s that evening. The cemetery itself had closed to visitors several hours before, but the caretaker was a friend of a friend, and he’d approved Kono’s impromptu late-night visit to her father’s grave. She was very grateful for that, because whilst she was glad to finally be able to spend Christmases with Steve, there would always be someone missing. It was time for her to stop hiding from that.

“Hi, Dad,” she murmured, crouching down in front of the grave and placing the flowers she’d picked from the middle of nowhere in front of his headstone. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve visited, and I’m sorry for that. There’s someone I want you to meet, though.”

Yet another reason she loved Steve - he knew what it was like to lose a parent, and he therefore just went with the flow when it came to being asked to have conversations with headstones.

“Hi, Detective Kalakaua,” her fiance said calmly, his hand falling to rest on her shoulder. He brushed her hair away from her face gently. “Sorry I didn’t stop by sooner.”

“I’m getting married, Dad,” she said quietly, tracing her father’s name carved into the stone with a single finger. “Pat already knows. He’s going to walk me down the aisle. He says you’d be so proud of me. I think he’s right.” She drew in a deep breath and tilted her head back, staring up at the sky. “I’m still so angry you won’t be there. So sad, too. I’m just - it’s a lot, Dad.”

She sniffled quietly, laughing at herself. “I mean, it’s been twenty-one years, yeah? I should be used to it by now. You’ve missed out on so much. But I think that’s why I’m so angry, because I know, in my heart, that if you could’ve been there, you would’ve been.”

She shook her head and wiped away the rogue tear sliding down her cheek. “Thomas Palakiko wants to meet with us. Before, it was just me, but now, it’s all of us. I basically told his attorney to go - well, I wasn’t very nice to her. What kind of man thinks he has the right to do that? To take so much from four little kids and then ask them to forgive his sins? He’s the reason we’re having this conversation here and not at home, you know? He’s the reason you’re not going to be at my wedding. He took everything from us, Dad. He took everything from you. So, I hope you can forgive me for not being able to forgive him. I know how you feel about grudges.”

She cleared her throat. “That’s enough of that, though. I came to share happy news. I don’t need to bring down the mood, yeah?” She tilted her head back to smile up at Steve. “You’d like your future son-in-law, Dad,” she assured her father, returning her gaze to the gravestone before her. “He’s stubborn enough to get how stubborn I am. He also doesn’t mind that I can take care of myself. I think he’s proud of me for it, actually.”

“I am,” Steve murmured. His hand still rested on her shoulder, the warm weight of it enough to ground her in that moment. “I’m so proud of you for it.”

“See? You’d like him.” She brushed her fingers against the stone a final time before climbing to her feet. “Merry Christmas, Dad,” she murmured. “I love you.”

With those final words, she turned to take Steve’s hand and allowed him to guide her away from the cemetery, feeling more grounded in that moment than she had in quite some time.

 

-o-o-o-o-o-

 

Their drive home was made mostly in silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind. It wasn’t until they were pulling into the driveway that Steve finally spoke.

“I would go with you, you know.” He shrugged when she glanced over at him confusedly. “If you wanted to meet with Thomas Palakiko. I mean, I know what I said the last time you brought it up, and it would still - I would be sick to my stomach the entire time. But if you’re ready now, to be in the same room as him. If you think it’ll give you any sort of closure. I’d go with you. I’d never make you do anything like that by yourself, Kono. Not in a million years.”

“I know,” she assured him. “I know you wouldn’t.” She fell silent for a few moments. “But I don’t think I’m ready to put myself through that yet, you know? To sit there, across from him, and listen to him try to excuse his actions. After what he did…” She slowly shook her head. “He’s asking for forgiveness, and I’m only human, you know? I can’t give that to him.”

“You don’t have to,” Steve told her seriously. “And he shouldn’t expect you to. He changed your life in the worst way imaginable when you were still a little girl, Kono. You don’t owe him anything.”

“Yeah. I know.” She tried and failed to smile in any way that wasn’t inherently sad. “Let’s talk about it more later, yeah? I know we just visited my dad’s grave, but I kind of - I’d like to focus on Christmas. At least for a little bit. If that’s okay.”

“Of course, that’s okay,” Steve replied, silencing the engine. He opened his door, climbing from behind the wheel, and then circled around the door to open hers, as well. “We have to exchange gifts still, anyway,” he reminded her, reaching for her hand and intertwining their fingers as they headed for the house.

“Oh, believe me, I know,” she laughed quietly. Her head fell to his shoulder as they walked. “It took much longer than usual for me to find your gift this year.”

“Yeah? Which of the classics is it?” he asked curiously.

She smiled mysteriously, letting go of his hand so he could unlock the door. “You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

It turned out to be _The Fountainhead_ , which just so happened to be another of his late mother’s favorites. Kono had checked with Mary during her visit months before to make sure it’d been on Doris’ list. He stared at it with wide eyes, his fingers brushing gently against the cover and several of the pages as he began flipping through it. “How do you keep finding first-editions?”

“Well, I’m related to half the island, remember?” she reminded him. “And some of those people happen to both own bookstores _and_ owe me favors, so, you know, it works out.”

“Thank you,” Steve murmured, smiling over at her. “I’ll add it to the rest.”

“So, you like it?” Kono checked.

“I do,” he promised her.

“Good. I’m glad.” She gestured to the box in her own lap. “Is this - did you somehow manage to get something from a war zone, again?”

“Not exactly,” he chuckled. “I think I did a little better than that, actually. Go ahead. Open it.”

She held in a gasp as she carefully lifted the sapphire earrings from their velvet backdrop. “They’re beautiful,” she murmured. “And they match my engagement ring,” she realized after a moment. “But, how did you…?”

“I had the ring made by a jeweler in Busan, near where we first met,” he explained quietly. “I called them a few months back to place another order. I’m just glad they made it here in time. I was getting worried there for a while.”

She smiled tearfully. “You really are so much more romantic than anyone gives you credit for.” She leaned forward to press a lingering kiss to his lips, her hand resting against the back of his head. “Thank you,” she murmured after finally pulling away.

He nodded once, smiling at her in that way he always did. It wasn’t a look anyone else was ever on the receiving end of it. “Merry Christmas, Kono.”

“Merry Christmas, Steve,” she echoed.


	13. Hau’oli Makahiki Hou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't based on any episode of the show. I just wanted to write it. I hope you enjoy!

“Just so you know, this is the most depressing New Year’s Eve I’ve ever had,” Danny informed Kono as he walked into the house she and Steve shared on the afternoon of the thirty-first. Grace had come in with him, but she’d already dashed past and towards the bathroom, likely eager to change and get out into the water. “I mean, it’s eighty degrees out there. At the end of December. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?”

“Well, we do live on an island in the middle of the Pacific,” Kono pointed out logically, continuing to toss the salad in front of her with a wry smile. “What do you want? Snow? Head on up to the mountains. You might see a flurry or two.”

“It is the middle of _winter_. I should not have to head up to the _mountains_ to see _snow_.” Danny’s tone suggested he found the very suggestion to be ludicrous.

“Well, it’s not going to start falling here in Honolulu, so that’s just about your only option if you’re so dead-set on getting in the New Year’s spirit.” Kono finished tossing the salad and set the bowl aside. “I know you hate everything about this island, Danny, but you know that you’re eventually going to have to get over your resentment of its climate, right? It’s never going change.”

“I’m going to continue to resent what I want to resent, thank you very much,” Danny returned. “Where exactly is your other half? He wasn’t out front when Gracie and I got here.”

“Why? You want to complain to him about the weather, too?” Kono asked teasingly.

“Maybe. What’s he doing?”

“He’s out back,” Kono informed the Jersey native, nodding to the back door. “Firing up the grill so he can go ahead and cook the steaks. And he’s not going to be any more receptive to your weather rants, just so you know.”

“Oh, I already know,” Danny assured her. “That doesn’t mean I can’t make him stand there and suffer.”

“Of course,” Kono sighed, shaking her head in amusement. “Why else would you two talk to each other, if not to cause annoyance?”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Danny advised sagely, heading for the back door.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kono muttered under her breath, smiling exasperatedly at her friend as he opened the door and headed outside. “And pray for you, because you’re going to antagonize a guy with access to flames,” she added the moment he was out of earshot.

“Auntie Kono?” Grace called, skipping into the kitchen. “Can I go swim now?”

“Sure,” Kono replied. “Just check with your dad and Uncle Steve before you get in the water, all right? I don’t want you out there without anyone knowing to watch out for you.”

“Okay,” Grace agreed cheerfully, practically dashing for the door after getting Kono’s approval.

Kono just shook her head once the little girl was outside. It sometimes amazed her that that kid actually belonged to Danny.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself, flipping through the notes in her phone in search of the recipe her mother had sent earlier in the day that she’d saved immediately, not wanting to chance losing it. One of the notes that came before it, however, was enough to give her pause.

She’d never had a pregnancy scare. Not once. It just wasn’t something she’d ever experienced. Realizing that she was three days late for her period? It was a traumatizing thing to go through for the first time, even if she was twenty-seven years old. And, even though she knew it was probably stress, she couldn’t go the rest of the day – much less the next two – without knowing, one way or the other.

She headed out into the backyard after taking a few minutes to breath. As soon as she set foot on the grass, she had to smile at the scene before her. Steve was laughing about something with Danny as he manned the grill, the two of them looking very much like her fiancé and Freddie had back in the day. She couldn’t bring herself to ruin that by discussing the simple possibility of something yet to be proven. So, instead, she told a half-truth.

“Hey,” she called, drawing the naval officer’s attention. “I’m going to run to the store, grab a few last-minute things. You guys need anything?”

Steve shook his head. “No. I think we’re good.” He left his position at the grill to cross over to her and press a gentle kiss to her lips in farewell. “Drive safe,” he murmured as he pulled away.

“Always,” she returned, then turned to go back the way she’d come.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kono knew she was a cop, not a scientist, and that probably meant she should stay in her own lane, but she was still pretty adamant that waiting three minutes to possibly find out if one’s whole life would be forever changed was a bit much. She waited, though. Not well – she paced the fidgeted and failed not to panic – but she did wait.

Eventually, those never-ending minutes passed, and Kono found herself face to face with a tiny white stick that might very well decide her fate.

“Okay,” she murmured to herself as she picked it up from where she’d left it, facing down, on the edge of the bathtub. “I mean, this can really only go one of two ways. So, just – look.” After drawing in yet another deep breath, that was exactly what she did.

One line.

It was negative.

She didn’t understand the emotions that came over her after that realization. She hadn’t wanted to be pregnant. She was still in the first few months of her career, after all, and she had a wedding to plan, a house to finish rebuilding, a life to live before becoming responsible for someone else’s. And yet, at the sight of that single pink line, something inside of her shattered.

Perhaps it was because so much had been lost over the course of the past few months. Freddie. John. Ian. Perhaps, in some way, she’d wanted to return some of that vanished goodness to the world, at least in some small way. But it’d been subconscious right up until that moment. It suddenly wasn’t, and Kono had no idea what to do with those feelings.

In the end, though, she did what she needed to do. She drew in a shaky breath, wiped away the single rogue tear trickling down her cheek, pasted on a smile, and headed for the door with her head held high.

It was New Year’s Eve, after all. There was celebrating to be done.

-o-o-o-o-o-

They managed to make it through their entire meal before Steve finally pulled her aside. Danny and Grace were near the shoreline, laughing at something the little girl had discovered at the water’s edge, so they had at least some semblance of privacy for the next few minutes.

“Hey. What’s going on?” her fiancé murmured. When her eyes met his, she realized he was just about as concerned as she’d ever seen him. “You barely ate anything, and you’ve hardly said a word since you got back from the store. Are you feeling okay?”

She drew in a deep breath and considered her options for a moment. Eventually, she chose to go with the truth. “I thought I was pregnant.”

Steve blinked once, his eyes widening slightly, then murmured a slightly strangled, “ _What_?”

“I thought I was pregnant,” she repeated patiently. “That’s why I went to the store. I wanted to pick up a test. But, uh, it came back negative.” Try as she might, she couldn’t prevent her voice from breaking as she revealed that little detail. “So, you know, more booze for me.”

“Kono,” Steve whispered, one hand finding its way to her cheek. “Why didn’t you come and get me?”

“Because I figured it was probably nothing. And it was. So, you know, everything’s fine.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s go, uh, see what those two are doing, yeah?”

“Kono.” Steve’s thumb wiped away a tear she hadn’t even realized had fallen. “Hey. It’s okay.”

Kono sniffled, then laughed self-deprecatingly. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. I mean, I was freaking the hell out when I thought there was even a possibility of it, and now that there’s not – I just… this is crazy. I’m being crazy.”

“You’re not being crazy,” he assured her. “Hey. There’s nothing wrong with you reacting like this. I mean – it’s a lot. Everything that’s happened over the past few months is just… this year’s been hard. A lot of people would be upset about something like this anyway. I think you’ve more than earned a few tears.”

“I don’t want kids right now,” she murmured, allowing herself to be pulled into his embrace. She rested her cheek against his shirt, just over his heart, and allowed herself to be soothed by the steady rhythm.

“I know,” he replied just as quietly.

“I want them in the future, though,” she clarified.

He smiled against her hair. “I know that, too.”

“Maybe, you know, maybe next time I cry over a pregnancy test, they’ll be happy tears,” she suggested, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

“Yeah,” Steve whispered in response. “Maybe.”

They stood there for a moment longer before separating. Even as they made their way out to the water, his hand found hers, and their fingers intertwined. Kono couldn’t help but smile. Even after all they’d been through, it seemed the end of the year was going to treat them well.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“Well,” Danny sighed many hours later, “at least there’s fireworks. I mean, that’s – well, it’s _one_ thing this place has gotten right since I arrived.”

Steve sighed amusedly from his spot next to Kono. “You do realize it’s not our job to impress you, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah. But still, a little effort would be nice.” Danny glanced over at Grace. “How about you, monkey? You liking the fireworks?”

Grace nodded enthusiastically. “They’re pretty.”

“They are. They’re very pretty,” Danny agreed. “And they look just like the ones back home, which is a plus.”

“We don’t always do everything differently, Danny,” Kono informed him, laying her head against Steve’s shoulder. “They’re fireworks. What did you expect?”

“I don’t know what to expect anymore,” Danny admitted, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m just – I’m just relieved, okay? I am relieved that not everything is completely and totally different.”

“Well, I’m glad,” Kono muttered laughingly.

“Okay,” Steve said a moment later, drawing their attention. “It’s going to be a new year in five, four, three, two, one… and it’s 2011, Happy New Year, everybody.” He pressed a kiss against Kono’s lips, both of them laughing.

“Happy New Year,” Danny and Grace returned.

“Do you think it’s going to be a good year, Auntie Kono?” Grace asked curiously.

Kono smiled up at her fiancé. “Yeah, Gracie,” she replied softly. “It’s going to be a great year.”

She only hoped her wish would hold true.


	14. Ke Kinohi

Kono was on the sofa when Steve returned home from dropping Mary Ann off at the airport. She held out a second glass of the Scotch she’d been sipping on before he could say a word. “Your partner called,” she explained when he accepted it with a muttered thanks. “He told me about Koji. I figured, what with Mary leaving and _that_ , you could probably use something a bit stronger than beer, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he replied quietly, taking a large gulp of the liquid and wincing slightly as it made its way down. “Thanks.”

“No problem. You want another? Seth bought me three bottles of the stuff when I graduated from the Academy.”

“Maybe later. I want to keep somewhat of a clear head.” Steve sank into the cushions beside her with an exhausted sigh. “My mother was murdered because of my father.”

“I know,” Kono replied, confused. “We’ve been working the case all day, babe.”

“No, I mean…” Steve shook his head. “I’ve been saying it all day, but I don’t think it’s actually sunk in for me yet. My mother was murdered because of my father.” He scoffed humorlessly. “That’s a story to tell the kids, now isn’t it?”

Kono watched with sympathetic eyes as he downed the remaining bit of Scotch in his glass, then filled it up again without being prompted, correctly assuming that he was over the idea of a clear head at that point. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, pressing the glass back into his hand.  “I know how awful this must be. Well, I mean, I don’t, but…” She shrugged. “It’s got to feel like you’re losing them both all over again, and that’s awful. It’s not fair. And I wish you didn’t have to go through it.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Steve admitted, placing his glass back on the table in front of them and then wrapping an arm around her to pull her closer to his side. “It’s Mary. At this point, the kid’s barely hanging on by a thread. I don’t think she’s got much more left in her after all that’s happened these past few days.”

“Your sister’s stronger than you think she is,” Kono told him seriously. “Steve, she’s been right in the middle of this thing almost since the beginning, too. She’s the reason we even figured out that Hiro was involved.”

“I know,” Steve responded tiredly. “She’s a lot smarter and braver than I give her credit for. I know that.”

“Yeah,” Kono murmured in agreement.

“I just…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “She’s still my baby sister. It’s still my job to protect her. And lately, I’ve been doing a lousy job of that.”

“Well, in your defense, she didn’t tell you she’d found the Champ box,” Kono pointed out. “And you had no way of knowing she’d been calling HPD for weeks on end. What happened was nobody’s fault. Well. Nobody other than Hiro’s, at least.”

Steve scoffed quietly at that. “Yeah.” His lips pressed against her hair. “This thing – it keeps tearing my family apart, and I’m just – I am so sick of it.”

“We’re going to figure it out,” Kono promised.

Steve laughed humorlessly at that. “How? Kono, Hiro Noshimuri managed to fool the governor into thinking he was a good person. How many more politicians do you think he’s tucked away in his pockets over the years? And do you _really_ think any of them are going to believe us if we go to them with this story of ours?”

“We’ve got the truth on our side,” Kono reminded him confidently.

“The truth doesn’t mean much in the world of politics, Kono,” he informed her tiredly. “It never has.”

“Yeah, well, loyalty’s not exactly a big thing in those circles, either,” she pointed out. “This isn’t going to be as hard as you’re making it out to be, babe. There’s no Blue Code or anything else protecting Hiro. As soon as we find enough evidence, he is going to answer for what he did to your family and to anyone he has ever hurt in the past, and there’s not a politician in the world that can protect him from the truth. Some things really are written out in black and white.”

“The man killed his own brother to keep the truth from getting out,” Steve sighed defeatedly. “I just – I don’t think we’re going to win this one, Kono.”

“We don’t know yet that Hiro did that,” she reminded him. “Sure, it makes things simpler if he did, but if he didn’t? That means that there’s someone else out there calling the shots. If we find them, then we’ll also find all that we need to take down Hiro.”

“You’re really sure of all this,” Steve mentioned, surprised.

“He destroyed your family when you were _fifteen_ ,” Kono reminded him. “He made your father give up on being a father and completely ruined your life and your sister’s. He doesn’t get to walk free after all he’s done. I’m very sure that I will readily – and happily – help you ruin him when the time comes.”

“I’m really glad you’re on my side of this thing,” Steve admitted with a wry smile. “Because if you weren’t, I would be absolutely terrified right now.”

“And rightfully so,” Kono teased back, glad to see that the mood had lightened at least a little. “Hey. I have an idea.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Steve questioned curiously.

“When we eventually take Hiro down for good, let’s see if we can get him thrown in with Palakiko,” Kono suggested. “They can spend their mutual life sentences beating the hell out of one another.”

“That would make me feel better,” Steve agreed.

“See? Sometimes, you just have to figure out ways to make things right.” Kono rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry you’re having to go through this all over again.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured back. “It’s different this time.”

“How?” she asked curiously.

He smiled down at her as if she should already know the answer. “Because I’ve got you.”

She blinked back tears as she snuggled closer. “Yes,” she whispered in agreement, her eyes slowly drifting shut. “You do.”


	15. He Kane Hewa'ole

“All right,” Danny sighed, standing from his seat after several hours of watching reruns of the same old show. “As much fun as this walk down memory lane has been, I have to go call my mother before she panics and reports me missing.”

“Why would she panic and report you missing?” Kono questioned, arching a confused brow as she reclined her head to stare up at her fiancé’s partner. “Is she as much of a helicopter mother as mine is?”

“As someone who has met your mother, I am not sure that’s possible,” Danny informed her seriously. “I talk to my mother once a week. Same day, every week. That’s today. So, you know.” He shrugged. “You three enjoy your evening,” he called over his shoulder, heading for the door.

Chin Ho chuckled, shaking his head with an amused sigh. “I’m going to check out, too,” he informed the two of them apologetically. “I promised my mother I’d try to make it over there in time for dinner.”

“What is it with everyone making promises to their mothers?” Kono asked rhetorically. “Bye, cuz,” she sighed. “Tell Auntie I say hello, okay?”

“Will do,” Chin promised as he stood from his seat. “You two drive safe, all right?” With that, he left the conference room and headed for the elevators.

“Well,” Steve sighed, turning to smile at her, “We might as well head home too, yeah? You want to stop by Wong’s on the way, grab some dinner?”

“Sure,” Kono agreed readily. “You know me. I love any excuse not to cook.” She paused. “Even though, you know, you do the cooking most of the time.” She smiled when he simply stared at her. “Fine. You cook all of the time.”

Steve grinned at her. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Just let me get my things.”

It only took her a few moments to dash into her office down the hall and collect the items she’d brought with her to work. Afterwards, she met him just outside the door.

“I have a question for you,” Steve began, his hand falling to the small of her back as they made their way out of the office and to the elevator.

“Sure,” Kono replied easily. “What’s up?”

“You’ve never heard of CHiPs? Ever?” he asked incredulously.

“Well, according to Chin, the last season finished airing the month I was born, so it’s really not as surprising as you’re making it out to be.” She smirked over at him as they stepped into the elevator. “Is this about me not knowing what CHiPs is, or about me not finding Estrada to be the most attractive of the partners?” she questioned knowingly, a bit of amusement slipping into her voice.

“Well, I would say it’s a good mixture of both.” He allowed her to step out of the elevator first, then followed. “All the girls liked Estrada. It’s just a little surprising.” He caught sight of the smirk on her face and scoffed. “You heard me and Danny talking about the show today, didn’t you?”

“It would’ve been a little hard not to,” Kono teased. “You two were fighting over those characters like you both wanted to ask them to prom and were trying to figure out who was going to get the last word in.”

Steve shook his head as he punched the number for the ground floor. “You really do enjoy mocking me, don’t you?”

“It’s one of my favorite pastimes,” she admitted cheerfully.

“I’m starting to figure that out.” Steve followed her from the elevator when it landed on the correct floor, then caught her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “You want to drive, or you want me to?” he asked once they were in the parking lot.

“You can,” Kono sighed. “My car will probably appreciate the break. I’ve put it through a lot recently.”

“Yeah, almost being involved in a head-on collision probably wouldn’t have been good for it,” Steve agreed, smirking when she shot him a disbelieving stare. “Okay, maybe I’m not the one to lecture on safe driving procedure,” he acknowledged.

“You think?” Kono asked. Her deadpan expression transformed into a sunny smile when he circled around to the passenger side of the Silverado and opened the door. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Steve returned easily as he closed the door behind her and then headed to the other side of the truck to climb behind the wheel.

It didn’t take them long to reach the restaurant where they’d agreed to dine. Steve held open the door there, too – Kono was beginning to realize his chivalrous ways were never going to lessen, even now that they were always in the same place – and it only took moments for them to be seated and handed menus.

“I still cannot believe that woman,” Kono admitted once their drink orders had been taken and the waitress had once again left them alone. “I mean, she murders her own husband in cold blood to run away with a guy who was willing to help her blackmail her father. And, more than that, she took that honest, innocent man away from his son. It's just unbelievable. Those two deserved each other.”

“Yes,” Steve agreed. “They did. And now that he’s dead and she’s behind bars, there are two less awful people walking free in the world. I mean, there's also one less decent one, but let's just - let's take the win, yeah?" 

“Yes,” Kono sighed. “Let’s.”

“Your mother called me this morning,” Steve informed her after a moment, quickly changing the subject.

“I’m sorry,” Kono apologized with a wry smile. “What’d she want to talk about?”

“The wedding,” Steve sighed. “She, uh, wanted to know the color scheme.”

“I already told her the color scheme,” Kono grumbled, shaking her head. “She just wants me to _change_ it, and she’s trying to get to me through you. Plus, you know, she’s still not exactly eager to talk to me, what with us still living together without being married.”

“Breathe, babe,” Steve murmured, flashing her an amused smile. “I don’t mind dealing with your mother. I’ve been tortured by terrorists, remember?”

“Yeah. I think talking to my mother might be worse.” Kono flashed the waitress a grateful smile as she delivered their drinks and then took their meal orders. “Hey.” She smiled over at her fiancé.

“What?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I can’t wait to marry you. Even if, you know, I’ll probably want to punch my mother by the time we get around to the actual wedding.”

Steve practically beamed at her. “Yeah,” he murmured in agreement. “I can’t wait to marry you, either.”


	16. Kai e'e

“How?” Kono asked as soon as they were in the truck.

Steve sighed from behind the wheel, running a hand down his face. “I don’t know,” he admitted tiredly.

“We stole ten million dollars of that money, Steve,” she reminded him unnecessarily. “There is no way they could have found the same amount that was there the day Hesse blackmailed us. There’s no way.”

“You’re right,” Steve agreed. “There is no way. Except that is exactly what happened, which means the money we took was replaced at some point in the past month.”

“But _how_?” Kono asked yet again. “Why would someone fork over ten million dollars of their own cash to keep us from going to jail?”

“I don’t know,” Steve repeated frustratedly. He exhaled quietly when she glanced over at him. “I – sorry. I’m just on edge,” he said apologetically.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” she assured him quietly. “We’re all on edge. I mean, this is – unbelievable. It’s unbelievable.” She shook her head. “Should we just take this at face value?” she asked after a moment. “Be thankful that we’re not currently explaining to the governor just _why_ it is that we stole money from our own state government?”

“At this point, Kono, I don’t think we can afford to take anything at face value,” Steve admitted, turning the key in the ignition and carefully backing out of the parking spot. “There’s a reason someone chose to help us out with this, and we can’t assume it’s a good one.”

“So, what, we have to be suspicious of everyone now?” Kono asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over at him. “Sounds fun.”

“Yeah.” Steve tossed a sad smile in her direction as he turned out of the parking lot. “You starting to wish you’d taken that job on the beat straight out of the Academy?”

“Never,” she denied resolutely. “They don’t let you kick down people’s doors if they don’t open them fast enough.”

“That’s a fair point.” Steve cleared his throat as he moved over into the next lane. “So. We still going to your mom’s place for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Changing the subject, I see.” Kono shot him a teasing smile. “But, no, we managed to get out of it. My brother and Bridget have something going on, so Mom postponed it until next month.” She shrugged. “It is a win I’m going to take.”

“You know, you are eventually going to have to patch things up with your mother,” Steve reminded her. “You want her at the wedding. You told me that. Someone’s going to have to take the first step, bury the hatchet. You do know that, don’t you?”

“I do,” Kono sighed. “But I’m not sure I want to be the one to take that first step. My mother’s been like this since the day my father died, Steve. It’s like she forgot that we all lost him that day, too. She only cares about appearances and her feelings, to hell with anyone else’s. And if we keep letting her get her way – eventually, our kids are going to be in the same spot I am, and I don’t want that for them.”

“You’ve told me, many times, that people deserve to grieve in the way they want,” Steve pointed out.

“Yeah,” Kono agreed. “But they don’t get to walk all over other people who are grieving in the process. That’s just cruel.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured, reaching across the console and catching her hand with his. He pressed a kiss to her fingers. “It is.”

The rest of the drive home was made in relative silence.

“You want to make dinner, or order in?” Steve asked as they made their way into the kitchen.

“We can make something,” Kono sighed, heading for the fridge. “We have a lot of food, and I don’t feel like dealing with another person tonight, you know?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, pressing a kiss to the back of her head as he made his way past to conduct his own search in the pantry. “I get it.”

“All right,” Kono said a moment later. “We’ve got chicken here. I know we’ve got pasta and sauce over in the pantry. How do you feel about chicken Alfredo? It’s one of the three things I can actually make.”

Steve chuckled at that as he removed the aforementioned pasta and sauce from the pantry. “Okay. Let me go fire up the grill, yeah? I’ll make the chicken out there.”

“You don’t have to,” Kono assured him. “I can make it in here, if you want to relax.”

“Nah,” Steve denied. “I think I need the time and the air, you know?” He quickly kissed her cheek as he placed the items he’d grabbed on the counter next to her, then gently removed the chicken from her grasp and headed for the backyard.

Kono stared after him for a moment, then sighed quietly, wondering for the thousandth time if things were ever going to get easier for him. She was beginning to think the answer might be an unfortunate – and resounding – _no_.

“Here you go,” Steve told her a few minutes later, coming back into the room with a plateful of chicken.

“Thanks, babe,” Kono returned, turning off the burner beneath the pot of pasta she’d been preparing. “I just finished up with the sauce, too,” she informed him, nodding to the other pot on the stovetop. “I’ll just cut this up and toss it in.”

“I can do it,” Steve responded, removing a cutting board from a nearby cabinet and then coming once again to stand by her side.

“Hey, I’m not going to protest,” Kono shrugged, surrendering the plate back to him. “Let me just drain the pasta, yeah?” She nudged past him to grab the drainer, then returned for the pasta, carrying both items over to the sink and going to work doing just that.

It didn’t take long for them to finish throwing the meal together. Kono grabbed the salad she’d prepared from the fridge, then slipped on oven mitts and ducked down to remove the garlic bread from the oven. After she’d poured an appropriate amount of dressing into the salad and then tossed it, she carried it to the table.

“This looks delicious, babe,” Steve complimented as he came over, the pot of pasta, sauce, and chicken in his hands.

“Thanks,” Kono sighed. “But all I did was toss pasta into water and then stir in sauce. Well, and I pulled bread out of a box and stuck it on a cookie sheet, but…” She shrugged. “You’re the one who went out into the elements to make the chicken.”

“Yes. The elements,” Steve deadpanned. “Because it’s just so miserable out there.”

“I was trying to be nice,” Kono muttered amusedly, grinning across the table at him. “You couldn’t just take the compliment, could you?”

“Nope,” Steve replied cheerfully, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork and popping it into his mouth.

Kono shook her head and released a long-suffering sigh. “You are impossible.”

“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” he pointed out.

“No,” Kono agreed, taking a bite of her own chicken. “I really wouldn’t.” She fell silent for a few moments. “Do you think that, uh, this whole thing with the governor, do you think it’s going to come back to bite us?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “I do. Don’t know how, at least not yet, but – the fact that someone put that money back? It doesn’t mean good things for us. Any of us.”

“So, what? We should pray for the best?” Kono questioned.

“Yeah,” Steve replied. “We should pray for the best. Prepare for the worst.”

The rest of their meal that evening was mostly consumed in absolute silence. 


	17. E Malama

Steve chuckled as he made his way into Kono’s office that evening. She was in the middle of filling out the paperwork left from the case they’d just wrapped up, her pen poised over one of the forms she needed to turn in before morning as she glanced up at him with a wry smile.

“What’s so funny?” she questioned, placing her pen atop the form and pushing both items aside to give him her full attention. “Did Danny fall down in the parking lot or something?”

“No, he did not, but that would have been funny too,” he admitted, sinking into one of the chairs across from her. “I just can’t believe I didn’t know you had moves like that. I mean, what you did with Brenner’s lawyer? That was some SEAL-level work there, babe.”

“Yes, well, I did learn my self-defense skills from you,” Kono pointed out, returning her attention to the paperwork in front of her. “And that woman deserved everything she got, believe me. Trying to kill the only person willing to tell the truth about her boss? She deserves to rot for it.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think mobsters live by the same code of morals that most decent people do, Kono.”

“Fair point,” Kono conceded, scribbling her signature at the bottom of the form. “Okay,” she sighed, pushing away from her desk. “That’s the last one. You ready to go home? My mind’s about numb from all this crap.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed in agreement. “Let’s get out of here.” He stood from his chair at the same moment she did and held the door for her to precede him out into the main office and towards the elevator.

“The prosecuting attorney called me earlier,” Steve informed her. “The jury seemed to really believe Julie and listen to what she had to say. She thinks it’s going to end up going their way.”

“That’s good news,” Kono sighed, leaning her forehead against his shoulder and allowing her eyes to drift shut as they walked, trusting him to prevent her from running straight into a wall or another person as they boarded the elevator.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, brushing his lips against her hair. “It is.”

“Hey, have you talked to Danny?” Kono asked curiously once the elevator doors had closed behind them and they were headed to the ground floor. “Do you know how things went down with Stan?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “Everything worked out, apparently. I mean, Danny had to hunt down and threaten the guy who ordered the carjacking, but he didn’t come to blows with Stan, which, considering the guy’s his kid’s stepfather, is probably a good thing.”

“It is,” Kono murmured, opening her eyes when the elevator dinged again, signaling they’d arrived on their floor. “I just can’t believe that happened. I mean, accident or not, if someone not related to my kid was responsible for a gun being brought within a thousand miles of her, I’d be ready to shoot them on sight.”

“I would be, too, but Danny’s working on his anger issues,” Steve explained. “I think the other people in his class would be pretty disappointed in him if he ended up shooting a guy, you know? And you know Danny. He’s a people-pleaser.”

Kono exhaled amusedly at that. “See, I’m hoping that’s sarcasm, because otherwise, you’ll be admitting that you’ve never bothered to get to know your partner.”

“It was sarcasm,” he assured her. “Believe me, I’m thinking at this point that I know him too well. I can tell what he’s thinking by the tone of his voice now. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?”

“I think that’s just how partners work, babe,” Kono informed him. “My dad and Patrick were like that, too. They always knew what the other was thinking and feeling, usually without even trying. Saved their asses when they were out on the streets more than once. You’ll probably be thankful for it if you ever find yourself in a situation where some psycho’s pointing a gun at your head.”

“I’m usually in a situation with someone pointing a gun at my head,” Steve pointed out. “It’s pretty much a weekly thing for me.”

“That’s true,” Kono allowed, thanking him when he opened her door and then waited for her to climb into the truck before closing the door behind her. She smiled over at him as he climbed into his own seat and slid behind the wheel. “I am exhausted,” she admitted, falling back against the headrest. “I plan on sleeping for at least the next twelve hours.”

“Then it’s a good thing that tomorrow’s our day off,” Steve murmured, turning the key in the ignition and carefully backing out of the parking spot.

“It is,” Kono agreed, her eyes once again drifting closed. “We still have all that leftover takeout from the other night, don’t we?”

“Yeah,” Steve assured her. “We have enough for tonight, at the very least.”

“That’s good,” Kono sighed. “I’m in no mood to cook. Well, I’m never in the mood to cook. Tonight, though, I’m too tired to cook.”

“I’ll heat it up for you,” he promised, reaching for her hand and intertwining their fingers. “Even carry it up to the bedroom, if you’re really that tired.”

“Look at you,” she murmured softly, turning her head slightly to smile sleepily over at him. “My knight in shining armor.” She turned away again, murmuring, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Danny. Wouldn’t want to ruin the reputation you have with your partner of being a complete badass.”

“Yeah, I think that’s already been ruined,” Steve sighed amusedly. “I don’t care, though. It just gives Danny a different reason to mock me, not another one. He’s got the will, so he’ll find the way.”

“Did you just quote my mother?” Kono asked, arching an eyebrow despite her eyes remaining firmly shut.

“I actually quoted the person who originally said it,” Steve said in response. “But, yeah, I guess your mother says it a lot too, doesn’t she?”

“All the time.” Kono paused for a moment. “If I fall asleep in this truck, just leave me here, okay?”

“If you fall asleep in this truck, I’ll carry you into the house,” Steve promised.

“You really do love me, huh?” Kono murmured with a tired laugh.

“Yeah,” Steve said in response. “I really do.”


	18. Powa Maka Moana

“I don’t know how people do it,” Kono muttered as they made their way to the parking lot that evening.

“Do what?” Steve asked, glancing over at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Have kids,” Kono clarified. “I don’t know how people have kids when things like what happened today can happen at any time. I mean, I want to be a mother, I do, but…” She shrugged. “There’s a kid being buried in a few days because his father decided to play with fire in a situation where he should’ve done the opposite. I’d die if I was ever responsible for something like that happening to one of our kids.”

“Well, you’d never be responsible for something like that, because you know how these things work,” Steve pointed out. “And, as much as I hate to admit it, we don’t have to worry as much as some people do. We don’t have even half the money every single one of those parents today did.”

“Yeah, I know, but we have badges and guns,” Kono reminded him. “And we don’t exactly make friends with the people we spend our days throwing behind bars. I just – I don’t want to think about what I’d do if I were ever in their shoes, you know? Just considering it makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Hey,” Steve murmured, coming to a stop just before they reached their vehicles. “Kono, I swear to you that what happened to those kids today will never happen to ours, all right? I don’t care if I have to send them off to college with armed escorts; it’s not happening. I wouldn’t put you, them, or myself through that. Watching other people deal with it was hard enough.”

“You do know you shouldn’t make promises like that, don’t you?” she asked rhetorically. “Not in this day and age. There’s always going to be too many variables involved.”

“I’m making the promise,” he told her seriously. “And I’m going to keep it.” He opened the driver’s side door on the Cruze. “Drive safe, okay? I’ll meet you at home.”

“All right. Love you,” she murmured, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth before ducking into the car.

“Love you, too,” Steve returned, closing the door behind her.

They ended up eating leftover pasta from the night before when they arrived home. A rerun of a game he’d missed while overseas was on the television, which was the perfect background noise for them to have a quiet discussion.

“My mother wants us to come over for the monthly barbeque,” Kono informed him once their food was gone. Her head had long since fallen to rest on his shoulder. “She told me via Hannah, of course. I guess I should be relieved she invited us at all.”

“Still not ready to bury the hatchet?” Steve murmured against her hair.

“Not even close,” Kono muttered back. “And that’s not likely to change this weekend, so don’t even think about bringing it up, all right?”

“I wasn’t,” Steve promised. “But, now that you mention it, who knows? A lot of things can happen in a day, babe.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think that’s going to be one of them,” she informed him as her eyes drifted shut.

-o-o-o-o-o-

That weekend did indeed find them at her mother’s place, out in the backyard with her siblings. Kono was in the middle of a discussion with Bridget, keeping a watchful eye on Maia and Ruby as they played nearby, when her mother came to sit beside her, causing Bridget to quickly excuse herself and duck out of the conversation.

“Steven was telling me that you worked that kidnapping case a few days ago,” Victoria informed her with a heavy sigh. “That was an awful thing, that boy getting killed. Why didn’t you bring it up when we spoke last night?”

“Mom, you hate hearing about my work,” Kono pointed out exasperatedly. “You’ve never supported me or my career in law enforcement. You hate Steve because he does. Unlike my fiancé, I’m not eager to sit down and tell you details of my life, just so you can tear me down over them.”

“That’s not true,” Victoria protested. “I’m very proud of you, Kono. I always have been. And Steve and I – no, we don’t always get along, but I could never hate someone you love, _keiki_.”

“Mom, I told you that we’d moved into together, and you stopped _talking_ to me,” Kono reminded the older woman. “This is the first real conversation we’ve had in _months_. You realize that, don’t you?”

“I do,” Victoria sighed. “I don’t agree with your decisions, Kono. I don’t. You’re not married…”

“And we’re not living in the twentieth century,” Kono fired back. “Are you done stating the obvious now, or…?”

“Kono. Tone.” Victoria’s own tone left no room for argument. “I don’t agree with what you’ve chosen for yourself. I don’t support it. But that doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

“You don’t agree with the fact that I’ve chosen not to let you control me. That’s what you really mean.” Kono shook her head and laughed humorlessly. “It wasn’t just your life that ended up ruined the day he died, you know? We all lost Dad, too. Maybe, the next time you decide to judge my life choices, you’ll try to remember that.” With that, she stood from the table and headed for her fiancé on the other side of the yard.

“She looks pissed,” Steve muttered when she came to stand beside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “What exactly did you say to her?”

“Nothing that wasn’t the truth,” Kono murmured in response. She shook her head as she glanced over at the grill her brother was manning. “Are you trying to burn those hot dogs, or is it happening by complete accident?”

“Hey!” Seth protested. “I’m doing my best here, kid. I’m still too sleep-deprived to be doing this. Hattie’s refusing to sleep through the night.”

“I offered,” Steve pointed out, taking another swig of his beer straight from the bottle.

“Yes, you did, but you’re a guest,” Seth reminded him. “And my mother would skin me alive if I actually put you to work today, so…” He shrugged. “Just catch me if I start looking like I’m going to fall face-first into the grill, yeah?”

“Will do,” Steve chuckled. His arm tightened around Kono. “How’re the girls doing, by the way? They haven’t tried pinning a flower crown to me, yet.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Seth sighed, glancing at his daughters with exasperated fondness. “I’m sure your moment’s quickly approaching. Soon enough, they’ll have another kid to join in on their shenanigans. Yet another reason to sort of dread the day that Hattie starts walking.”

“There’s more than one?” Kono asked, arching a brow in question.

“You ever chased after three little girls at the same time? No?” Seth waved the tongs in her hand at her. “Then don’t judge, _kaikaina_.”

“Okay, okay,” Kono laughed, holding up her hands. “I will stop mocking you, all right? I promise.”

“Good.” Seth carefully removed the hot dogs and other items from the grill, then placed them on a plate with a sigh. “You know, kid, Mom’s still glaring over at the two of you. What exactly did you say to her?”

“The truth,” Kono said again. “I told her that she needs to stop acting like it’s her job to run our lives. We haven’t been kids in a long time, you know? Not since Dad died.”

“You told her that?” Seth groaned. “Kono…”

“She’s not the only one who lost him,” Kono snapped back. “And she needs to realize that. I’m not going to allow her to put any of her grandkids through the same grief she’s put us through, Seth.”

“Yeah, well, you’re braver than me,” Seth muttered, shaking his head. “All right. You might want to disperse, because these kids are about to attack like hungry hyenas. Food!” he called, drawing his wife’s attention and then everyone else’s. Just like predicted, it was only moments before the grill was surrounded on both sides by Kono’s elder nieces.

Later that afternoon, Victoria approached her. Steve, never one to back away from any situation, no matter how dangerous, remained resolutely by her side.

“I realized that you were right,” Victoria admitted. “It’s not my job to judge you and your siblings on your lives. They’re yours to live.” She smiled sadly. “I cannot do things the way I have been. Not if I want you to keep speaking to me. I’ve always expected you children to change your ways. Perhaps it’s time to change my own.” She paused for a moment. “And I am very proud of you, Kono. I’m very proud of all of you. I’m sorry I’ve made you doubt that.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Kono whispered, blinking away tears. She pulled away from Steve to hug the woman. “Thank you,” she murmured again.

“Thank _you_ ,” Victoria returned, her arms tightening around her daughter. “I love you, _keiki_.”

“Yeah, Mom,” Kono breathed. “I love you, too.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

“So,” Steve commented as they pulled into the driveway that evening. “Your mother apologized. That was surprising, to say the least.”

“Yeah,” Kono agreed quietly. “It was.”

“You remember, the other day, when you told me it’d never happen?”

“Don’t you even _think_ about bragging,” she ordered.

She could practically _hear_ the smirk in his tone as he replied. “Yes, dear.”


	19. Loa Aloha

“I honestly have no idea how I’d deal with what Danny’s dealing with,” Kono admitted in the privacy of their home that evening. “I mean, his brother’s a criminal. More than that, his brother’s a criminal who didn’t turn to him when things started going bad. I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “I mean, of all the issues Mary and I have had over the years, her feeling as if she couldn’t come for me was nowhere on the list. If anything, she almost came to me too frequently there for a while.” He paused. “Now that I think about it, I’m glad that she did. At least it means she trusted I’d watch out for her, have her back, you know?”

“You’re her brother,” Kono reminded him, her voice implying that answered any and all questions he might have about his sister’s motives. “Big brothers are the people you’re _supposed_ to turn to when it all starts going downhill.”

“Yeah.” Steve glanced away, shaking his head. “It’s just a bad situation, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” Kono breathed. “Well, the past few days have been just full of bad situations, you know? I’m starting to think we might never see a good one again.” She reached across the table to cover his hand with hers. “I know people go to lengths for their kids,” she murmured, her fingers tightening around his. “But to kill other people’s to try to get justice for your own? That’s sick.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “Yeah, it is, and Travis Roane is going to rot for what he did to those men’s children. The prosecutor’s already gotten in touch with me; she thinks the case is rock-solid. He won’t be walking away from these charges like he did the ones back home.”

“Thank God.” Kono took a final bite of food. “You want to watch the game?” she suggested. “I think it’s another one you’ve missed.”

“I was in a warzone for the better part of the past decade. I think I’ve missed all of them.” Steve pushed away from the table and picked up their plates to carry into the kitchen and place in the sink. “But, yeah. Let’s watch the game,” he agreed. “Quick question. Will you judge me if I fall asleep halfway through?”

“Silently, maybe,” Kono replied teasingly. “But I’ll save any mocking for within these four walls. I promise not to give Danny any more ammunition against you.”

“Thank you,” Steve sighed as he returned to her side, wrapping an arm around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you. So,” he began as they settled onto the sofa. “Chin Ho told me you had your first dress fitting with your sister over lunch. How’d that go?”

“Well, we were both cranky and hungry, so not as well as it could’ve,” Kono admitted amusedly. “But it was all right. The dress is beautiful, and it fits like it’s supposed to. I’d go into further detail, but, you know, you’re the groom. Bad luck and all.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in stuff like that.”

“Well, I don’t, but why take the chance, you know?” Kono laid her head against Steve’s shoulder. “You get around to asking your groomsmen to stand up with you?”

“I asked Chin,” he informed her. “I’m still working up to asking Danny.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kono questioned, amused. “Why? You don’t want him to know you actually like him yet?”

“Sure, that’s part of it,” Steve agreed, making her laugh outright. “But, also, I don’t want to listen to his lectures about anything and everything related to the wedding, you know? He doesn’t at all approve of beach weddings. I’ve had to listen to his opinions about them more than once.”

“Technically, it’s not a beach wedding,” Kono pointed out. “It’s a backyard wedding. The _reception_ is on the beach. That any better?” She smiled at the look on his face. “I’m guessing that’s a resounding _no_.”

“He doesn’t think sand and suits should be in the same location,” Steve explained. “It’s a whole thing. I don’t want to make you suffer through the explanation like I had to.”

“Thank you,” Kono sighed in amusement. “I know you’ve decided you’re going to wear your uniform. Are they going to wear theirs?”

“Danny will kill me if I’m the reason he gets sand on his uniform,” Steve deadpanned.

“Danny lives on an island now, so Danny can get over it,” she fired back, smirking.

“I knew there was a reason I loved you so much,” Steve chuckled, pulling her into his arms and making her laugh as he kissed up the side of her face. “You’re brilliant, badass, and you don’t mind yelling at my partner. Plus, you know, there’s the whole drop-dead gorgeous thing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kono rolled her eyes with a quiet laugh. “I’m the whole package.”

“You really are,” Steve agreed seriously, brushing his lips to her hair as he wrapped his arms more tightly around her and moved them both so that they were laid horizontally against the sofa, her on top of him.

“Was this your goal all along?” she asked suspiciously, raising her head slightly and resting her chin against her hand so that she could stare up at him.

“Yes,” he admitted without remorse. “It was. And look. It worked out.”

“That it did,” Kono sighed, snuggling closer and allowing her eyes to drift closed. “That it did.”

“Hey,” Steve murmured after a moment, pulling her from a light doze.

“Yeah?” she returned just as quietly.

“Danny would’ve called by now if something had gone wrong at the airfield. Right?”

“Yeah,” Kono assured him. “I’m sure.”

Just as she began drifting off again, the phone in his pocket began vibrating. She groaned and shifted so that he could remove it, grunting unintelligibly when he apologized quickly for disturbing her. She pried open her eyes when a muttered stream of expletives hit her ears.

“So,” she sighed, pushing herself up so that her chin once again rested on his chest, “I’m taking that to mean that something went wrong at the airfield?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “It did.”

“Anything we can fix now?” she asked. Tired or not, she wasn’t going to leave one of her closest friends hanging. Not after all he’d been through over the course of the past few days.

“No. No, Danny’s with Rachel,” Steve explained. “Nothing else can be done tonight.”

Kono’s eyes drifted closed once again. “Then let’s deal with it in the morning, ‘kay?” she murmured.

“Yeah,” he said just as softly. One hand lifted to run through her unruly locks. “We’ll deal with it in the morning.”


	20. Ne Me'e Laua Na Paio

Steve practically stormed out onto the beach after returning from his dinner with Jenna Kaye, frantically calling Kono’s name as he searched the area for her. She turned around quickly in her seat down by the water, practically tripping over herself to get to her feet and rush in his direction. She’d not heard from him since he’d left the office to meet up with Jenna. Seeing him in such a state did not make her expect to hear good things about their meeting.

“What the hell happened?” she demanded as she came to stand in front of him, searching him for any obvious signs of injury. Sure, Jenna Kaye was a tiny woman who couldn’t weigh much more than a hundred pounds even soaking wet, but there had to be some reason for him to leave the office perfectly fine and then come home so shaken up. Considering who she was dealing with, physical pain seemed to be the best bet.

Upon finding no obvious signs of injury, she met his panicked gaze, asking yet again, “What the hell happened?”  He continued to stare at her, causing her gut to churn with worry. His eyes were full of some other emotion she couldn’t quite ascertain. “What went down at that restaurant? What did Jenna say?”

“Jenna wasn’t the one there,” Steve finally murmured roughly. “Wo Fat showed up. He took her and held her for collateral to make sure I wouldn’t shoot him right there in the restaurant.” His head fell to Kono’s shoulder, and she quickly lifted a hand to hold him in place. “I don’t think I know who I’m dealing with here anymore, Kono.”

“Steve,” she murmured, turning her head to press a kiss to the side of his face. “It’s okay.” It wasn’t, and she knew that as well as he did. She just had no idea what else to say, so that was going to have to suffice until she figured something else out.

“This guy – Kono, he killed my mother. He killed my father. He had Mary Ann kidnapped. Now, he’s got his hands on Jenna. I can’t – I don’t know how to protect you from him,” he admitted, breathing in her scent. “I don’t even know if I can, at this point.”

“You don’t need to,” she assured him quietly. “I carry a gun with me at all times, remember?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed. “So did my dad. When the time came, though, it didn’t do him a bit of good.”

“I know,” she murmured, allowing him to pull away and stare down at her. “But you’re not going to lose me the way you lost him, Steve. I won’t let that happen.”

“Neither will I,” Steve replied resolutely. “That’s why we have to get this guy. We have to figure out how to take him down now, before it’s too late. I’m not going to let him keep targeting me and the people I care about.”

“All right,” Kono agreed easily, her hand lifting to cup his cheek. “Then we’ll find him, and we’ll destroy him, all right? We’ll do that. You’ve just got to trust us. You’ve got to give us time. This guy has friends in high places, remember? We can’t throw the book at him until we’re sure there’s enough to lock him up for good.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, his heart slowly slowing down now that she was there, safe and sound, right in front of him. “I know. I just – I can’t keep doing this, Kono.”

“I know,” she replied, stroking his cheek. “Soon enough, you won’t have to anymore, all right?”

“All right,” he agreed, his eyes drifting closed as he leaned slightly into her palm. She smiled sadly at the sight. The man never let his guard down, not unless it was in front of her. It broke her heart to know that that wasn’t something he’d learned from his time with the Navy. It was the way he’d been raised. And, from what they knew of Wo Fat and his connections to the family, it’d been rightfully so.

“All right,” she echoed. “Now, come on. We need to go inside. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you didn’t eat at the restaurant, did you?”

“No,” he confirmed. “Wo Fat offered to foot the bill, though.”

“Oh, how polite of him,” Kono muttered sarcastically, letting her hand fall to her side and then reaching for his. “I made chicken stir fry for myself. There’s still plenty left; I just need to pop it in the microwave for a minute or so.”

“I can make something for myself,” Steve offered. “If you wanted to take the leftovers to work or something.”

“No. No, I was just going to leave them for you, anyway,” Kono assured him. “It’s fine, all right? You need to eat, then you need to sleep. You don’t need to worry about cooking or anything else.”

“You’re treating me like I’m in shock,” Steve observed as he followed her into the house.

“Well, yeah,” Kono admitted. “Because I’m expecting that you will be at any moment. I mean, you just sat across the table from Wo Fat. _I’m_ a little in shock, and I wasn’t even there.”  

“It’s not just the fact that he was there,” Steve muttered, following her into the kitchen and sitting down when she gestured towards one of the barstools they’d just brought in the previous week. “It’s what he _said_ while he was there. He told me to stop digging into my family’s history, into their past. Told me I’d end up hating a lot of what I found.”

“So, what, he’s implying that your dad was dirty?” Kono asked incredulously, exhaling loudly when Steve simply shrugged. “Well, don’t listen to the scum of the earth on matters like that, all right? I knew your father. He was about as far away from dirty as both a cop and a person could get. He was a good man.”

“I don’t know, Kono,” Steve murmured, shaking his head. “I mean, Danny assumed his brother was a good man, and look what happened there.”

“Your dad and Danny’s brother are – it’s not the same thing, Steve,” she sighed, removing the stir fry from the fridge and popping the entire container into the microwave. She punched in the correct numbers, then turned to face him. “Danny was blind because he and Matthew shared blood. That might be the case with you when it comes to your dad, but it’s not the case with me, or with Chin, or with any of the countless other people who knew and respected him.”

Steve nodded once. “Maybe he wasn’t dirty,” he allowed. “But what else could Wo Fat have meant by that?”

“A lot of things,” Kono admitted. “He could’ve meant a lot of things, but he also could’ve been calling your bluff.”

“What if he wasn’t?” Steve asked, glancing up at her.

Kono sighed. “I don’t know,” she admitted honestly.

“Yeah,” Steve muttered, his gaze once again shifting to the counter. “Neither do I.”


	21. Ma Ke Kahakai

“You do know that Danny’s never going to go anywhere out in nature with you ever again now, don’t you?” Kono asked amusedly as she slipped beneath the covers of their bed that night. “Your incident has severely traumatized him. His words, not mine.” She nodded at his injured arm, which was still in a cast and would be for the better part of the next two months. “How’s the arm doing? The painkillers kicked in at all?”

“Not really,” Steve admitted, wincing as he shifted slightly into a more comfortable position. “Then again, I wouldn’t let them prescribe me the good stuff, so…” He shrugged with his good shoulder. “Might have brought this pain upon myself.” He smiled apologetically at her when he glanced over and saw her eyes wide with concern. “I’m sorry I worried you today,” he murmured, lifting his uninjured hand and running his thumb gently down her flushed cheek. “Really is the last thing I ever want to do.”

“I know,” Kono sighed, leaning slightly into his hand. “I just – when your friend calls and tells you your fiancé fell off the edge of a cliff, it worries you a little bit, you know?” She lifted her hand to cover his. “I have not missed those kinds of phone calls since you got back.”

“I didn’t figure,” Steve replied amusedly, still stroking her cheek. “You know, the guys in the unit, they hated calling you when I got injured. They found you absolutely terrifying. Whenever they could, they always shuffled that job off on Freddie. Then again, Freddie loved you like a little sister, so I’m not sure much shuffling actually had to be done.”

“Yeah.” Kono forced a smile as she met his eyes. “I loved him the same way.”

“Okay,” Steve sighed, tilting his head slightly to appraise her. “What have you not told me? You’ve been holding something in since before we left the restaurant, and it doesn’t have anything to do with what happened to me. What’s going on, Kono?”

His voice was gentle enough to make her want to cry. Instead, she simply told the truth. “My aunt, uh, she passed while we were at the restaurant,” she admitted quietly. “And I wanted to tell you, I just – I had to get my own head around it first, you know?” She shook her head. “I mean, today I found out that my uncle is the reason Chin’s not wearing an HPD badge anymore. He stole the money to buy a kidney off the black market when my aunt first got sick.”

Steve blinked once. “What?”

“Yeah. You’re as surprised as I am,” Kono told him dryly. “I mean, I’ve always known my cousin will go to extreme lengths to protect him family, but losing his badge and his reputation? Risking jail time? That’s a lot, even for him.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, exhaling slowly. “That’s a lot. What’s he going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Kono shrugged. “Uncle Keako wants to tell the truth. He never wanted Chin to lie in the first place, but now that Auntie’s gone – he just wants to make things right, you know, for her. But Chin won’t hear of it. He wants to keep bearing the brunt of the false accusations. He wants to keep lying. I get that he wants our uncle to be okay, but he’s not being fair. Not if he’s refusing to even give Keako a chance to do the right thing.”

“Things aren’t always so black and white,” Steve told her quietly. “Not when you’re dealing with family. Not when you feel like it’s your job to protect them.”

“I know,” Kono sighed. “But this isn’t like with Mary, Steve. Our uncle didn’t turn off a fire detector to smoke a cigarette. He didn’t get drunk and climb behind the wheel of a car. He stole from the state of Hawaii.” She held up a hand before he could speak. “And I know. I know we did the same thing, for the same reasons, and I’m being a complete hypocrite right now, so please don’t point it out to me. I already know.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Steve promised. “I was just going to say that you’re going to have to let Chin and your uncle deal with this the way they want to deal with it. Interfering, even if you think it’s right, will only badly for all of you.” He cupped her cheek. “Kono, I know you want to save the whole world,” he murmured. “But you’re eventually going to have to at least stand by and let everyone in it try and save themselves.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” she murmured, her eyes drifting closed as she leaned into his hand. “I really do. I hate it so much.”

“I know you do,” he replied just as quietly. “But you shouldn’t worry, because it’s really rare for me.”

Kono laughed quietly at that. “If you’re trying to distract me, it’s working,” she told him seriously. “You should keep it up.”

“I actually wasn’t trying to distract you,” Steve admitted. “You shouldn’t be awake right now, anyway. You’ve had a long day. Sleep.” He released her face and pulled lightly at her wrist until she was laying on her side next to him, their cheeks resting against the same pillow in the center of the bed.

“Next time you decide to go hiking in the middle of nowhere, please take me with you,” she muttered. “Or, at least, take a radio with you. I don’t want to have to wonder if you’ve fallen down another cliff every time you leave the house alone. It will not do good things for my blood pressure.”

“Well, I’d never want to cause you problems with your blood pressure,” Steve teased, kissing the tip of her nose.

“No, you wouldn’t,” she murmured in agreement. “Because then you’d get yelled at by my doctor, and she is not a nice woman when she starts yelling.”

“Oh, I know,” he laughed tiredly. “You tell me every time you go and visit her.” He blinked one eye open. “Why is it that your blood pressure’s high every time you go and visit her, anyway?”

“You’ve never tried dating yourself, have you?” Kono mumbled sarcastically into the pillow. “It does not do good things for one’s stress levels, my love. I just never have high blood pressure long enough for her to medicate me. It’s stress-induced, every time.”

“If I promise not to try to get myself killed on a daily basis, will you promise to try to stress just a little less?” Steve asked quietly.

“I’ll do my best,” she agreed.

“All right, then. It’s a deal,” Steve smiled.

“Yeah,” Kono replied, leaning forward to press her lips gently to his. After a few moments, she pulled away. “It’s a deal.”


	22. Ho'opa'i

Kono cleared her throat as she leaned against the entrance to Steve’s office that night, smiling at him when he glanced up from his paperwork with a raised brow, his hand still holding a pen directly above the form he was working on. “Danny told me something interesting today,” she informed him as she made her way towards his desk and sank into one of the chairs across from him.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve replied, smirking slightly as he glanced back down at what he was working on. He jotted his signature at the bottom of the form, then gave her his full attention. “And what is that?”

“He told me that you told him that if someone ever murdered me – and we had kids, I think that was the qualifier for the whole thing – you would be by the book.” She raised a challenging brow. “I have known you for the better part of seven years. There is no way you would follow any rulebook ever written if what happened to Cole’s wife happened to me.”

“I never said it’d be a rulebook,” Steve clarified. “I just said I’d be by the book. Lot of books have been written over the years.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’d stick to the rules outlined in the _Art of War_?” Kono laughed quietly when he simply nodded. “Yeah, that sounds much more like you. You were not made to follow the rules, babe.”

“You do realize that I was with the Navy for eleven years, right? And before that, I was at Annapolis, and before _that_ , I was at the Army and Navy Academy. I can follow the rules when I want to,” Steve told her.

“Of course, yeah, you can follow the rules when you want to,” Kono agreed. “The thing is that you never want to.” She tilted her head when he simply stared at her, unimpressed, for several seconds. “We both know I’m right.”

“Yes,” Steve conceded, sighing. “We do. Just don’t tell Danny that you are, all right? He’ll rub it in my face for the rest of our partnership if he knows he was actually right when he told me there’s no way I’d ever go by the book if someone hurt you.”

“Honey, he’s met you,” Kono deadpanned. “And he’s seen you with me. Pretty sure he already knows you were lying. But fine, I promise not to tell him outright. Heaven forbid the man have more reasons to mock you.”

“I just don’t want to give him any ammunition to share at the wedding,” Steve sighed, leaning back slightly in his chair. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Do I really _have_ to let him speak during the reception?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kono laughed, shaking her head with an exasperated smile. “You chose to make him your best man, remember? That means you signed yourself up for this.”

“I didn’t _make anyone_ my best man,” Steve clarified. “I asked both him and Chin to stand up there with me. I gave no one any titles, but somehow, in Danny’s mind, that translated into him being the best man.”

“He’s one of the best friends you’ve got,” Kono reminded him. “Just let him have his fun. Plus, you know, Sutton is going to – she’s going to mock me incessantly during her speech. At least this way, the playing ground will be evened out, yeah?”

“I’d be fine with the playing field being uneven,” Steve muttered under his breath. “But fine. I will let him have his fun. If he humiliates us in front of everyone we know and like, though, just remember that you brought it on yourself.”

“I will,” Kono promised, still smiling as she stood from her seat. “Now. Come on. It is way past closing time, and I’ve been starving for the past hour. I’m practically wasting away over here, McGarrett.” She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers, and he smirked up at her before pushing away from the desk and circling around to intertwine them with his own.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” he murmured as they made their way through the glass doors and out to the elevators. “Absolutely adorable.”

“I know,” she sighed, her forehead resting against his arm as they walked. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”

“How’s it both?” Steve asked, letting go of her hand so he could place a hand on the small of her back and guide her into the elevator.

“Well, it’s both because people underestimate me,” Kono explained. “Depending on who those people are, that is either a very good or a very bad thing.”

“That makes sense,” he allowed, punching the button for the ground floor and then stepping back to stand at her side.

“Danny, uh, also told me something else,” Kono mentioned as they made their way off the elevator and out to the parking lot. “He said you drove his car through Jimmy Cannon’s fence.”

“I did,” Steve admitted, making her laugh. “But it was necessary. His security guards weren’t going to let me in, and I needed to talk to him.”

“It was necessary for you to nearly destroy your friend’s brand-new car because you didn’t get your way?” Kono asked teasingly.

“Well.” Steve blinked. “I mean, yeah. That’s the gist of it, yeah.”

“So glad I’m marrying you,” Kono sighed, amused. “You deal with things in such a mature and responsible manner.”

“See, I know you’re mocking me, but I can deal with things in that way,” Steve defended himself. “When mobsters don’t gun down women in front of their husbands and children, I can be the picture of rationale and reason.”

“Yeah,” Kono murmured, sobering quickly. “I think this one messed with all of us. I still want to punch Richard Cannon in the face.”

“We all want to, but it’s not advised, so we try not to,” Steve explained. “Otherwise, I’d be right there with you.”

“You do realize you’ve, uh, hung people over buildings and blown up rooms with grenades, right? You’re not exactly an expert in doing what is advised.”

“That is a fair point,” Steve conceded.

“I know it is.” Kono climbed into the passenger seat of his truck after he opened the door for her. “You know, we could always drive my car in,” she pointed out once he was behind the wheel and backing out of their parking space.

“If you want,” Steve replied vaguely.

“You’re dying inside at the very prospect of not getting to drive, aren’t you?”

“Well, I didn’t get to do it much in the Navy,” Steve reminded her. “I’ve missed it. So, yeah, I like driving. But I can compromise. With you,” he clarified. “With you, I can compromise.”

“Well, aren’t I special?” Kono smiled as she turned her attention to the radio, finding a station that didn’t make her want to cringe.

“You are,” Steve agreed. “You really are.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the house. As soon as they walked through the front door, Kono headed for the kitchen and began removing food from the fridge.

“I’m making salad,” she murmured as she made her way past him. “I know it’s not what we usually eat, but I don’t feel like making anything else.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed readily.

“So,” she sighed, setting aside the lettuce and cherry tomatoes, “is Kamekona going to be barging into our living room for the rest of the week, or did you manage to clear that up?”

“I tried,” Steve offered.

“In other words, he’s going to be barging into our living room every day for the rest of the week.”

“He probably is, yeah.”

“How exactly did you manage to intimidate terrorists for a decade, again?” Kono asked, amused.

“I didn’t really bother making friends with them,” Steve pointed out.

“That’s a fair point,” Kono conceded. “You want vinaigrette, or no?”

“Go for it,” Steve nodded.

“Great.” She poured the dressing into the salad, then tossed it. “Hey. I’m going with my bridesmaids for their dress fittings this weekend. By the way, have you realized that we have yet to set a date?”

“Not until this exact moment, no,” Steve admitted. “In our defense, though, we haven’t exactly had much time.”

“Yeah,” Kono agreed. “Everyone keeps trying to kill us and stuff.”

“Yeah, they’re really the worst,” Steve deadpanned.

“They are,” Kono agreed laughingly. “Here.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, accepting the bowl of salad she pushed his way.

“Yeah,” Kono replied, brushing her fingers over his as she carried her own bowl over to the table. “Did you talk to Kaye about the envelope you got today?” she asked as she sat down at the table.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “She still thinks Wo Fat’s messing with me.”

“I think Wo Fat’s messing with you, too,” Kono admitted. “But, you know, there’s always the possibility that he isn’t.”

“Yeah. That’s the possibility that I’m scared of.” Steve took another bite of his salad, then shook his head.

“We’ll figure it out,” Kono promised. “He’s not going to get away with this.”

“That’s what my dad said,” Steve pointed out. “Eighteen years ago. It’s what got my mother killed.”

“You want me to start checking my engine?” Kono asked seriously. It’d likely prove nothing more than a waste of time, but if it made him feel better about things, then she’d do it.

“Maybe,” Steve hedged. “Let’s just keep going the way we’re going for now, all right? If things start getting worse, then we’ll figure things out then.”

“You’re starting to sound like me,” Kono informed him, popping a tomato into her mouth with a small smile.

“I do spend most of my days around you,” he pointed out.

“Again, that’s a fair point,” Kono allowed. “Hey.” She smiled at him when he glanced up at her. “Whatever happens, we’re going to deal with it together.”

“I know,” he murmured, setting his fork down and covering her hand with his. “That’s the only thing making it easier to deal with all of this.”


	23. Ho'ohuli Na'au

“Hey,” Kono murmured, leaning back into her fiancé’s embrace with a soft smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I see that you finally managed to make your getaway from Danny.” She turned in his arms to glance over his shoulder for a moment, then returned to her previous position, allowing him to support most of her weight. He was a Navy SEAL, after all; it wasn’t like he was exactly straining. “Has Chin showed up yet?”

“No,” Steve replied apologetically, as if it was somehow his fault that her cousin had prior commitments. “Danny’s watching for him, though. He texted a few minutes ago, said he’d be here in the next hour or so.”

“That’s good,” Kono sighed, her eyes drifting shut as he swayed them slightly there in the sand. “He’s always a big hit with the kids. They love him.” She paused for a moment. Her tone was more subdued when she spoke again. “He and Malia always talked about having a house full of them, you know?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied quietly. “I think you mentioned something about that, back when they first got engaged.” He hesitated before continuing. “Have you talked to him about her? A few months back, you were worried they might be getting back together.”

“Yeah, and I still am,” Kono admitted. “I haven’t talked to him about it. Not since the day the fake tsunami hit us, at least. That’s the last time he brought her up, and it hasn’t exactly seemed like he’d be open to discussing much of anything related to his private life recently, so…” She shrugged as best as she could in his embrace. “I guess I’m just going to let what happens, happen, and pray that he’ll make the right decision. Not much else I can do at this point. He’s not exactly listening to me much these days.”

Steve sighed quietly at the reminder of the tension between his fiancée and the cousin who had always been more of a brother to her. “I’m sure that, once things start calming down with IA, everything will go back to the way it was,” he tried to reassure her.

“They’re demanding that he supply the money,” she informed him, proud that her voice only shook slightly. “That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars, Steve. Money no one in the family has. But, you know, he’s adamant he’s still going to keep going along with it.” She shook her head sadly. “I have no idea how he’s going to get that kind of cash. I’m more than a little scared to find out.”

“I’m sure he’s not going to do anything he’ll regret,” Steve told her seriously.

“Yeah. That’s what worries me,” she replied just as earnestly. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to keep his family safe, Steve. There never has been. I don’t know what lines he’s going to cross to keep Uncle from going to prison. I’m afraid he’s going to make it worse for himself than it’s already been for years now.”

“Well, maybe he’ll talk to you before it comes to that,” Steve suggested hopefully.

“Yeah,” Kono sighed. “Maybe.”

Steve cleared his throat. “So,” he began, rapidly changing the subject. “Did you ever figure out how you know Charlie Fong. Or, I guess, how Charlie Fong knows you, seeing as you had no idea who he was.”

“Yeah,” Kono replied, smiling amusedly. “Seventeen years ago, he was the first boy I ever kissed.”

“You had your first kiss when you were ten?” Steve asked incredulously, smirking against her hair. “Why, Miss Kalakaua, how scandalous of you.”

“Shut up,” she laughed, tilting her head back to roll her eyes at him. “It was Kelly’s birthday, and it was the first time she’d ever got to have a coed party. We ended up playing Spin the Bottle while the adults were upstairs. Apparently, the game ended with Charlie and me kissing, although I had no recollection of any of this until Kelly brought it up earlier.”

“Oh, yeah? First kiss wasn’t that memorable, huh?” Steve questioned teasingly.

“I was _ten_ ,” Kono reiterated humorously. “Are you honestly saying that you remember the first kiss you ever had?”

“I do, actually. I was seven. Her name was Molly Rawlings. I shared my cupcake with her at lunch, and she kissed me right there at the table.” He paused for a moment. “Okay, well, _technically_ she kissed my cheek, but I still say it counts.”

“Sure,” Kono agreed, laughing. “But what about your first _actual_ kiss? When was that?”

“Oh. Uh, sixth-grade winter formal,” Steve replied, slightly embarrassed. “Jane Walsh. She was a full six months older than me.”

“Ooh, so she was a cougar, huh?” Kono teased, making him laugh at her antics. “Wow, McGarrett. I didn’t think you were the type.”

“Yeah, well. She asked me, not the other way around. Kissed me at the entrance, then ran out to her dad’s car and went home. I could have sworn he saw nothing that night, but I swear, Kono, that man glared at me every time I saw him after that.”

“Well, you kissed his daughter,” Kono pointed out. “Fifty feet away from him. He could probably sense it. Oh, and by the way, the winter formal? That’s a little cliched of you, babe.”

“Hey, she kissed me, not the other way around,” Steve protested. “I didn’t choose the time or the place. And, _honey_ , I don’t think the girl whose first kiss took place during a game of Spin the Bottle gets to call anyone else out for being cliched.”

“That’s a fair point,” Kono agreed, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the annoyance in his tone. “I apologize for calling you cliched. It was unfair of me.”

“Thank you,” Steve sighed, amused. He pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “We’re going to do this next year, too, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Kono assured him. “I mean, come on. You think I’m ever going to willingly miss out on seeing the looks on these kids’ faces the first time they get to go in the water? Never.”

“Okay,” Steve smiled. “Well, I’m glad. It’s a good way to spend a day, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah,” Kono agreed, leaning back into him once again. “It is.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

“You know what I can’t believe?” Kono asked her fiancé later that night, watching as he plated the chicken he’d just finished grilling next to the vegetables he’d sautéed on the stove several minutes earlier. “Pauline Lucero killed Sinclair because she was angry that he didn’t want to be in her life.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, glancing up at her with an arched brow. “She’s crazy.”

“No,” Kono disagreed. “Well, yes, she is, but that’s not what I meant. I mean, she killed her father for not wanting to be in her life. As soon as she did it, though, she ended any chance of him _ever_ being in her life. She spent her whole life wanting a father to be around, and just when hers was finally getting his act together, she burned his trailer down with him inside. I mean, that’s the kind of tragic irony that, until today, I’d only ever seen in Shakespearian plays.”

Steve paused for a moment to consider, then agreed. “She’s going to have to live with what she did. It’s going to haunt her. Well. It should haunt her. Then again, I don’t know if anything can haunt a kid who kills her own father in cold blood.”

“How angry do you have to be?” Kono asked rhetorically. “I mean, I’ve been pissed at my family before, but she – I didn’t even know it was possible to be that mad at a person you share blood with.”

“Yeah, well, anger can make people do horrible things,” Steve told her. “I didn’t know it could make them do what she did, but…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Maybe it’s time to stop underestimating how awful people can actually be.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed in agreement. “This job’s making me lose _all_ my faith in humanity.”

“Sorry,” Steve murmured, sliding a plate across to her.

“Don’t be,” she reassured him. “I love this job. I just wish people weren’t so terrible all the time, that’s all.”

“If people weren’t so terrible all the time, then we wouldn’t have jobs,” Steve pointed out.

“That’s true.” Kono speared a piece of chicken with her fork and popped it into her mouth. “It’s awful that we have to rely on people to keep being evil so we can keep our jobs, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Steve admitted, taking a bite of his own chicken. “Unfortunately, you’ll eventually get used to it.”

“Yeah.” Kono took another bite, then shook her head. “I’d be fine with going into another line of work. If it meant people would stop murdering other people. I could figure out and get over my issues with it.”

Steve chuckled. “Me, too.”

“But, you know, until that day comes, let’s just keeping throwing bad guys behind bars and getting paid for it.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Steve agreed, lifting his bottle of beer from the counter and clinking it against hers.


	24. Ua Hiki Mai Kapalena Pau

“Okay,” Kono sighed as she collapsed onto the sofa next to her fiancé that evening. “If you’re not going to say it, then I will. The last forty-eight hours have been a lot, and I could really use a nap.” She moved closer to him, snuggling into his arms as if to prove her point. “We should appreciate this moment,” she mumbled against the fabric of his shirt. “None of our friends are on the brink of death. No one who has tried to kill us is going to burst through the door. It’s – it’s good. It’s a good moment.”

Steve laughed quietly as he lifted one hand to run through her unruly waves of hair. “Yeah,” he agreed softly. “It’s a good moment.” He drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, the action relaxing him. “I walked in on Danny and Rachel at the hospital yesterday,” he admitted after a moment.

Kono twisted in his arms so that her chin rested against his chest and stared up at him with wide eyes. “Be kind, rewind,” she ordered. “What are you talking about? What exactly did you walk in on at the hospital? Why would anyone do _that_ in a hospital? It’s so unsanitary.”

“They weren’t doing anything,” Steve informed her amusedly, shaking his head at the fact that that was the first place her mind had gone. In her defense, he could’ve worded it a bit better. “She was just in the bed with him, that’s all. Sleeping. She was sleeping,” he clarified when her expression didn’t change.

“So, what, they’re exes who cuddle?” Kono asked incredulously. “I mean, I’ve never been divorced – and I never plan to be – but I’m pretty sure that sharing a bed with someone I _chose_ to leave would not be high on my list of priorities.” Kono arched a brow in question. “Wait. Is this what you two were talking about before Sang Min barged in this afternoon?”

“Yeah,” Steve confirmed. “It was. Apparently, it’s been going on for a little while, and it’s, uh, not usually so innocent between them.”

“Oh, God, our friend is helping his ex-wife cheat on her current husband,” Kono groaned, shaking her head. “Our life has officially turned into a damned soap opera.” She paused for a moment. “Well, our life became a soap opera a long time ago,” she conceded. “But still. This makes it that much worse.”

“He seems to think it’s going to work out, if that makes you feel any better,” Steve offered.

“It doesn’t, because he thought it was going to work out when he got down on one knee all those years ago, and all she did was wait a few years before ripping his heart out of his chest and taking his kid away from him.”

“Okay,” Steve drawled, his lips quirking up in amusement at her fierce defense of his partner. “I’m not sure Rachel’s the Evil Queen, Kono. They both made mistakes. Maybe this is them trying to right all of those wrongs.”

“No, it’s not,” Kono said adamantly. “If Rachel wanted to right her wrongs, she wouldn’t be turning him into the other man. She and Stan aren’t formally separated, are they? They’re still legally married?”

“Funnily enough, I did not wake her up and ask about her relationship status while my friend was in a hospital bed, recovering from being poisoned,” Steve returned wryly. “I can send her an email as soon as I get up, though, if you’d like.”

“This is not funny,” she muttered, her eyes still full of fire. “I know you and Danny don’t always see eye-to-eye, Steve, but he’s still one of your best friends, and he’s signing himself up to experience the same heartbreak all over again. You can’t really be supportive of the idea of that.”

“Kono, I know Danny sometimes acts like a child, but he’s still a grown man,” Steve reminded her gently. “His decisions are his own. He’s the one who has to live with them. So, if he wants to get involved with Rachel again, I’m not going to be the one to tell him it’s a bad idea.” The land running through her hair fell to rest on the small of her back. “Sometimes, the best thing you can do for the people you care for is step back and allow them to make their own mistakes. Otherwise, they’ll never learn.”

“It doesn’t seem like he learned the first time around,” Kono grumbled angrily, settling back into his embrace nonetheless. “So, you’re not going to talk to him about it at all?” she checked.

“I’m sure I’ll talk to him about it,” Steve allowed. “But I’m not going to talk him out of it. It’s his life, Kono.”

“Men,” Kono sighed, burying her face in his chest once again. “You just set yourselves up for disaster, don’t you? Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah,” Steve deadpanned. “It’s one of our favorite pastimes.”

“See, I know you meant that sarcastically, but I’m pretty sure there’s at least a little truth under there somewhere.” Kono sighed heavily as she closed her eyes and snuggled closer. “Between Danny and Chin Ho, the other members of our unit are going to end up putting me in the asylum before we manage to make it to our wedding day.”

“Yeah,” Steve scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “How’re things going with Chin? Has anyone heard from your uncle yet?”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed. “He called my mom a few hours ago. Things aren’t going his way. He’s probably not going to serve jail time – he has decades under his belt with HPD, after all – but he’s not going to walk away scot-free, either. It’s just – it’s a mess.”

“Chin was trying to do the right thing,” Steve reminded her gently.

“Chin’s always trying to do the right thing,” she returned tiredly. “And it usually backfires. But this? This was his life on the line. It was his name. And he decided to hold onto the lie, right up until the truth was impossible to hide. I don’t know how to support someone who’s always so eager to destroy himself in the name of helping others. Eventually, he’s going to have to realize that people at least need to have a chance to help themselves.”

“I think he already has,” Steve told her. “He gave Marcum his house to protect your uncle, and it didn’t work out. I’m hoping that that taught him a lesson.”

“If you honestly think it did, then you haven’t known my cousin for very long.” Kono sighed once again, then shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t want to talk about any of this. And I am assuming you don’t want to talk about Sang Min?”

“Would rather watch paint dry,” Steve confirmed. “Or anything else, really.”

“How about sleeping instead?” Kono suggested. “Sleeping sound good?”

“Sleeping sounds great,” he promised, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Within minutes, they were both out.


	25. Oia'i'o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sets up the rest of the series, which makes it arguably the most important chapter in this entire work. Parts of it are inspired by later seasons - especially seasons two and four - but any actual aspects of those seasons are completely ignored. Please note - the storylines of Steve's parents shown in later seasons DO NOT exist in this. While the reasons for Wo Fat's hate are similar, they do not belong to the same people as on the show. With that being said, I hope you enjoy.

They’d spent the better part of the first six years of their relationship apart, and yet Kono had never felt more distanced from Steve than she did in the moment that she walked into a prison and sat down on the other side of inch-thick glass to have a conversation with him after he’d been wrongfully locked up for the murders of Laura Hills and Governor Jameson.

The first time she was allowed into Halawa, three days had passed since her fiancé’s arrest. She herself had only just been released from the Department’s custody, something that came after they realized no hard evidence of the crimes they were accusing her of committing existed. Danny went with her to be a silent support, but he remained in the waiting room when she was taken back, which relieved Kono. As much as she loved the Jersey native, there were some conversations a person just wanted – _needed_ – to have alone.

“Hey,” she murmured into the phone as soon as he picked up. She blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes and flashed him a sad smile. “I hate to say this, babe, but I’ve got to admit, orange? Not exactly your color.”

“Only you would say that first after the week we’ve had,” Steve sighed, shaking his head wryly. His eyes were dark with both grief and concern as they met hers. “Why were you at the police station the night I was arrested? Danny, uh, he refused to tell me.”

“Yes, well, you had just been arrested for murder, honey,” Kono reminded him dryly. “And he’s your best friend. He probably didn’t want to add to your worry.”

She sighed when it became obvious he was not going to allow himself to be distracted from the topic at hand. “The Department believed they had some evidence that I’d broken into the forfeiture locker. It turned out to be nothing. You shouldn’t even worry about it; the case has been closed,” she assured. “I actually got a formal apology from IA, if you can believe it. I mean, those guys don’t usually apologize for _anything_ they do.”

“That’s good,” Steve murmured. “That’s good. I’m glad everything’s looking up for you out there.” He glanced away quickly, his eyes filled with infinitely more pain when they once again met hers. “I’m glad you’re safe, Kono. I was – I was worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Kono told him seriously. “You should be worrying about yourself. I try not to let my mind go there, but you are a cop. In a prison. Full of people we helped put away. Is – is everything okay with you? You’re not, like, being beaten to a pulp on a daily basis in here, are you? Because I do not have any problem coming in there and kicking someone’s ass for you.”

“My damsel in shining armor,” Steve teased lightly, smiling gently at her. “Thank you for being so ready and willing to defend my honor, babe, but everything’s fine. Protective custody has its perks. As in, you know, it prevents me from getting killed on a daily basis.”

“See, I know you’re joking with me right now, but I’m delicate, and if you keep saying things like that, I will probably end up crying,” she admitted, laughing self-deprecatingly at her own ridiculousness.

“Hey,” Steve murmured, his gaze softening. “Things are going to figure themselves out, Kono. It’s all going to be okay.”

“I should be the one telling you that,” Kono sighed, shaking her head. “We’re working on your case. I don’t think Danny’s slept at all for the past seventy-two hours. Neither have I. Chin Ho is –” She scoffed, shaking her head. “Well, he’s doing whatever the hell it is he’s doing. He and I aren’t exactly speaking at the moment.”

“Kono, he was just doing his job,” Steve reminded her softly. “Like it or not, I was standing over the governor’s body with the gun that killed her, and while everyone close to us knows that I was framed, that doesn’t change the fact that there’s enough evidence to put me here.”

“And there was enough evidence for Chin Ho to lose his badge all those months ago, but I never stopped believing in him,” Kono fired back. “Loyalty means something in my family, and he’s not showing any.”

“Kono,” Steve breathed, his fingers lifting to brush against the glass. “You’re going to have to let this anger go. There’s nothing you can do about it now, all right? Your cousin did what he thought was right, and that’s all there is to it.”

“I hate when you’re logical,” Kono groaned quietly, smiling at him when he simply smirked at her. “But I will take it, because I’m just so relieved you’re here, in front of me, alive and – and safe.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured in response. “I’m relieved about that, too.” His hand fell from the glass. “Hey. Chin up, okay?” he reminded her gently. “Carry your gun with you at all times. Always take Danny if you end up going to interview someone. And, uh, lock the door behind you when you go to bed, all right? Double-check all the windows. Make sure –”

“Honey, I’ve got it,” she reassured him. “I’ll do everything I can to keep myself safe, all right? You just promise to do the same.” She smiled yet again, blinking rapidly in an attempt not to tear up. “I love you, Steven McGarrett.”

“Yeah,” he whispered back roughly. “I love you too, Kono Kalakaua.”

“We’ll get you out of here soon,” she promised earnestly. “I swear to you, you’re not going to be here much longer.”

“I know,” he murmured back. “I believe in you. I’ll always believe in you, Kono.” He glanced over his shoulder, signaling that someone had done something to draw his attention. “I’ve got to go,” he told her sadly. “Remember what I said. Stay safe.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled back. “You too.” She waited until he hung his phone up against the wall, then did the same.

Danny was standing outside the prison when she headed out to the parking lot several minutes later. “Hey,” he greeted, pushing away from the hood of his car and approaching her with a sad smile. “I’m sorry. I would’ve kept waiting in there for you, but I was getting some really weird looks, and…” He trailed off as he caught sight of the look on her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly.

“Nothing,” she sniffled, wiping away the rogue tear trailing down her cheek. “Nothing. He’s fine. I don’t know why – why I’m crying.” She scoffed at her own inability to get a grip on her emotions.

“Okay,” Danny murmured, moving closer and wrapping his arms around her in much the same way that Seth or Patrick would. “You’re crying because your fiancé’s in prison, and that’s just now hitting you.”

“He was arrested _three days ago_ , Danny,” she mumbled. “He’s been in there for _three days_ , and we have no – there’s no way for us to get him out. _How_ are we going to get him out?”

Danny paused as he pulled away. “Well, I don’t know yet,” he admitted quietly. “But we are, okay? I swear to you, I’m going to get him out of there and back home to you. I swear, okay?”

“Okay,” Kono agreed weakly, wiping her eyes once again. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Danny repeated. “So, come on, let’s get to work.”

“Yeah,” Kono murmured in agreement, never more thankful for her fiancé’s close friend than she was in that moment. “Let’s get to work.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

“All right. So, it turns out that Wo Fat’s pissed off a lot of people over the years,” Danny informed Kono and Jenna gleefully the next morning. The three of them were gathered in the kitchen of the house Kono and Steve usually shared. “And, you know, when you’re trying to take someone down for murdering the most prominent official in a state, hunting down their enemies is key.”

“It is,” Jenna agreed confusedly. “I’m going to assume, based on the look on your face, that you’ve found one of Wo Fat’s enemies?”

Danny nodded as he handed them both a piece of paper. “Kono, Jenna, I would like to introduce you to Siobhan Cross. She’s a former agent with the Directorate of Military Intelligence in Ireland. Two years ago, Wo Fat implicated her in a bombing at the agency’s headquarters that resulted in the deaths of five of her fellow agents. She managed to beat the charges, but not before her reputation was irreparably damaged. She moved here to Oahu in late 2009 to escape the limelight that little incident caused. It took me some time, but I managed to track her down. She’s agreed to aid us in any way that she can.”  

“She knows nothing about Steve,” Kono pointed out. “Why would she be willing to help him?”

“Eh, she sees it more as helping both him and herself,” Danny admitted. “You know, she’s not exactly safe if Wo Fat’s out on the streets, either. But she chose to help with Steve’s case because she knows of his father. Because, you know, everyone on this entire island somehow knew his father.” Danny tried and failed not to roll his eyes at that. Kono simply smiled at his antics.

“He was a well-liked man,” she murmured in agreement. “So. When’s Miss Cross scheduled to come in?”

“Well, she’ll be here in, uh, well, that’s her at the door now,” Danny muttered. “I will – I will go get that.”

“Okay,” Kono breathed, turning to Jenna. “Let’s hope this goes well.”

“It will,” Jenna promised. It seemed that, since Steve was no longer there to reassure her each day, their former teammates had taken on the role for themselves.

“Kono, Jenna, meet Siobhan Cross,” Danny introduced as he came back into the room, an attractive brunette trailing a few steps behind him. “Miss Cross, this is, uh, Kono Kalakaua and Jenna Kaye.”

“Hello,” Cross greeted with a sharp smile, holding out her hand to shake Kono’s. “It’s nice to meet you both. Daniel’s told me a lot about you since he reached out.” She glanced over her shoulder to shoot him a flirtatious smile. Kono had to physically stop herself from rolling her eyes at the action.

“Nice to meet you, too,” she returned as she released the other woman’s hand. “Thank you for helping us out with this.”

“Of course,” Cross replied easily. “Anyone who despises Wo Fat as much as I do is an instant friend of mine.” She paused, then added, “John McGarrett was a friend of mine, as well. He was a good man. I have no reason to assume his son is any different. And good men should not be trapped behind bars while the awful ones walk free. There is no justice in that.”

Kono had to fight not to raise her eyebrows at the woman’s philosophical statement. “What did Wo Fat do to you?” she questioned curiously.

“My partner was in bed with him,” Cross explained bitterly. “I did not know it at the time. When I turned the man in for his actions, Wo Fat made it his personal mission to ruin my life. Six weeks later, there was a bombing at my agency’s headquarters in Dublin. I was framed for it. At that time, I didn’t know who he was. It took years for me to regain my reputation, and even then, I was chased on without apology. I will not stand by and allow him to do the same to your fiancé, Miss Kalakaua. I swear to you.”

“Thank you,” Kono murmured. “So. What’s the plan?”

Cross’s sharp smile returned. “Oh, I am _so_ glad you asked.”

The Irishwoman’s plan, it turned out, was even more insane than Steve’s original plan to take down the terrorist had been.

“You have got to be kidding,” Danny snapped once she was done explaining. “That’s it. You are even crazier than McGarrett. I had no idea that was even possible.”

“Here’s the thing, Daniel,” Cross muttered in response. “You are never going to get Wo Fat to venture out of whatever dark hole he’s hiding in by yourselves. He’s gotten all that he wants from the three of you. Your friend is behind bars. But me? He has a lot of unfinished business with me. I can lure him out for you to take down. You just have to trust me. Oh,” she tossed over her shoulder with that same smirk at Danny, “and be my backup. Think you can handle it?”

Danny drew in a deep breath and shook his head as the other woman headed back the way they’d come previously.

Kono smirked over at him. “Is it accents and being called Daniel by people with them? Is that what does it for you?”

“Shut up,” Danny grumbled back.

“I can’t help but notice that you didn’t deny it,” Kono murmured, patting his shoulder as she made her way past him and up the stairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“I told her this plan was stupid,” Danny murmured several hours later, ducking behind his car for cover as Wo Fat turned once again to fire at them. “You heard me, didn’t you? You heard me tell her the plan was stupid.”

“Yes, Danny,” Kono muttered back, reloading her weapon. “But, somehow, you being proven right is not my priority at the moment.”

“Right, right, yeah,” Danny agreed, glancing up to see if it was safe for them to emerge. “All right. I have about thirty seconds to make it over to Cross and get her back here with us, if that.”

“All right,” Kono replied, her eyes narrowing in concentration. “I’ll cover you. Just – be safe, Danny,” she pleaded. “I don’t want to have to explain to Steve that I got you killed trying to get him out of prison.”

“Yeah, yeah, I can see how that conversation would be awkward,” Danny mumbled as he made his way past, still crouched down. “Moving,” he muttered just before he pushed himself to his feet and took off running across the parking lot. Somehow, he managed to make it over to an injured Cross, wrap an arm around her shoulders, and rush her back to the cover of his car without being wounded. Miraculously, Kono didn’t end up bleeding out on the concrete, either.

“All right,” Cross hissed quietly, wincing in pain as Danny applied pressure to the gaping wound still gushing blood on her forearm. “So, it’s perhaps possible that I didn’t entirely think out this plan before taking action.”

“No, you think?” Danny drawled sarcastically. “And here I thought the fact that you’re bleeding all over me meant that we’d been entirely successful.”

“The sarcasm is not appreciated, Daniel,” Cross snapped back. “The plan did not work out exactly as I’d hoped, but that does not mean it didn’t work out.” She reached into the pocket of her jacket and removed a flash drive. “I got exactly what I needed from him. He just doesn’t know it yet. For now, he thinks he’s won. That’s exactly what we need him to think. _That_ is what will get your friend out of prison.”

“Yeah, well, you see, he’s going to be mad at us if we get a woman he doesn’t know killed in the process of breaking him out of prison, so, uh, maybe think things through the next time, yeah?” Danny suggested.

“I’ll do my best, Daniel,” Cross promised, arching a brow. “Now. Let’s get out of here. You know, before he realizes we’ve been here this whole time.”

“Yeah,” Danny muttered, lifting her into the car while Kono held open the door. “That sounds like a great plan.”

They were back at the McGarrett residence less than half an hour later. Kono called in Bridget to patch Cross up, as her sister-in-law had had more than a bit of experience with gunshot wounds during her time overseas in the service. Fortunately, the other woman understood a thing or two about how important secrecy was at such a time, because she didn’t even ask how Cross had been wounded as she stitched her up.

“All right,” Cross muttered once the former medic had left. She winced in pain once again as she pushed herself up, and Danny stood from the couch at the same time to steady her. “Let’s see what all it is that Wo Fat has on your friend, yes?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Kono murmured in agreement. “Cross. Thanks again for this.”

“Of course,” Cross signed. “I always enjoy the opportunity to stick it to Wo Fat and help out a good man in the process.”

“That worked to our advantage, I guess,” Danny muttered, shaking his head exasperatedly as he slid the flash drive into the computer on the coffee table in front of them.

A few seconds later, John McGarrett’s face appeared on the screen. Kono had to cover her mouth with the back of her hand to mute the gasp that bubbled up at the sight of the man that would’ve been her father-in-law.

_“Steve, Mary Ann,”_ the late detective sergeant muttered, smiling sadly. _“I never wanted to have to make this video for the two of you. I never thought I’d have to. I’ve always tried to be careful when it comes to what I’ve discovered. I didn’t want to leave you without both of your parents. If you’re watching this, though, then that is exactly what happened. I’m sorry. But, I know that now, more than ever, you deserve to know the truth.”_

“When is this from?” Kono mumbled, still in shock.

Cross glanced at something in the bottom corner of the screen. “It’s stamped the thirty-first of January, 2010,” she informed the officer.

“That’s less than a year before he was murdered,” Kono informed the brunette quietly. “Was he expecting them to come after him?”

Cross glanced over at her sadly. “You don’t challenge a man like Wo Fat without expecting him to put you in a coffin, Officer Kalakaua. Not by yourself, at least.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” Danny muttered, his hand resting on Cross’ uninjured shoulder as he stood behind her. “So glad we’ve decided to take him on.”

“I did say _by yourself_ , Daniel,” Cross reminded him pointedly. “If you’ve not noticed, you are far from by yourself.”

Kono glanced between them and held back a sigh at the visible tension there. Well. At least Steve would be relieved to know his best friend was no longer going after his little sister, because the man’s attention had so obviously been redirected to the woman sitting there on the sofa next to her. “Can we just keep watching the video, please?” she pleaded. “I will let the two of you have all the time you want to bicker, I promise. Just, you know, after my husband’s no longer behind bars.”

“Right,” Cross said apologetically, refocusing on the screen in front of them. “Of course. I’m sorry.” She hit the Play button, and John’s voice once again filled the small space.

_“The truth is this. In 1964, your mother’s father was an agent with the CIA working out of Asia. His target at the time was Yao Fat, Wo Fat’s father. Unfortunately, Wo Fat’s mother was the one killed in the bombing your grandfather arranged. Wo Fat was six weeks old at the time of her death._

_In 1984, when your grandfather died, he confessed what he’d done to your mother. At that time, Wo Fat had not yet become the monster he is today. He was still working on the right side of the law. Your mother was so adamant that he know the truth of his family’s tragedy. I wasn’t able to talk her out of it, no matter how hard I tried, and she ended up sending a letter to him later that year. The information included in that letter is the reason things have spiraled so badly over the past eighteen years._

_Wo Fat did not mean to kill your mother that day. He meant to kill me. He wanted her to lose someone she loved, just as he had. Unfortunately, her car was in the shop that day. I told her to take mine. So, you see, your mother’s blood is on my hands as much as it is on his. As hard as it might be to accept, that is the only reason I sent you away. I couldn’t let the man responsible for you losing your mother go unpunished for his crimes._

_I learned a few years back that the governor was in bed with the man. I did not know at the time how deep that connection truly was. Three months ago, I installed cameras and listening devices in her office. Every bit of data recovered from those is on this flash drive. If I’m dead by the time you discover it, I want you to have enough to take this man down, once and for all. Finish what I couldn’t.”_ John’s eyes became glossed over with tears as he smiled at the camera once again. _“I love you both. Aloha, a mei mākou hālāwai hou.”_

Kono wiped away the rogue tear trailing down her cheek. “Cross? The data he mentioned?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s all here,” Cross confirmed. “It’s all here, and it’s beautiful. There’s enough to put Wo Fat away for years!” She paused for a moment. “Wait a moment. This word document is – he had a camera in her office that night,” she murmured.

“What night?” Kono questioned, confused.

“The night the governor was murdered. He didn’t take them all down. This discloses its exact location,” Cross explained. “Granted, we have to be able to get in there, but if we can… that should be enough to clear your fiancé’s name, once and for all.”

“Great,” Danny sighed. “The government hates us, Siobhan. Did you forget that part?”

“The lieutenant governor doesn’t. Well, she doesn’t hate me, at least,” Kono informed him. “My father was her training officer, back in the seventies,” she explained when the Jersey native glanced over at her with a raised brow. “And she respected John. She’ll take our meeting.”

“Are we sure that she’s not as dirty as, you know, the last woman who sat in that office?” Danny asked suspiciously, ignoring the glares he was shot form both sides. “Don’t look at me like that! We were all thinking it; I’m just the one who actually had the nerve to say it.”

“She’s not dirty,” Kono assured him. “She has breakfast with my mother once a week, and you know my mother. She’s like a human lie detector test.”

“Yes, she is,” Danny agreed, his eyes widening slightly at the reminder of his own first introduction to Victoria Kalakaua. “All right, then. Let’s hope that you’re right about her taking our meeting, then.”

Kono was right, of course. They were being let into the Governor’s Mansion by the woman herself less than an hour later. “Thank you for taking this meeting with us, ma’am,” Kono murmured as Audrey Kim stepped aside so that they could make their way past. Jenna was no longer with them, as she was checking in with some of her contacts within the CIA to see how things were going on that front.

“Of course,” Lieutenant Governor Kim replied. “I have never once believed that your Steven was responsible for Patricia’s death, Kono. There have been many lies spread about him within these walls, but I will not fall victim to even one of them.”

“Thank you,” Kono smiled sadly. “We appreciate that, and I’m sure he will, too.”

The lieutenant governor nodded. “You said something about needing access to my office over the phone, yes?”

“Yes,” Kono confirmed. “We believe there’s something in there that will prove Steve’s innocence.”

“Then you may have free reign,” the lieutenant governor told them. “As soon as you have the information you need, please inform me. I will aid you in your efforts in any way that I can.”

“Thanks,” Kono murmured, smiling as the older woman pulled her into a brief embrace. Her father had really had the best taste in friends, hadn’t he?

“Okay,” Cross murmured a few minutes later, walking around the office. “The, uh, the file said it was in one of the frames on this – ah! Found it,” she informed them, carefully lifting the tiny camera from where it’d been tucked away in the top of a frame. “It’s got a memory chip that’ll plug right into any computer,” she assured them. “This is our proof. This is how we take Wo Fat down, once and for all.”

“Thank God,” Kono breathed.

“Yeah,” Danny murmured in agreement. “Well, come on. No need to waste any more time. Let’s make the man rot, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Cross smirked up at him. “Let’s do it.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

Three hours later found Kono standing outside of Halawa Correctional Center, smiling widely as her fiancé, once again glad in plaid and cargo pants, quickly made his way towards her. The moment she was in his arms and being spun around in the air, she began laughing outright.

“I don’t know how the hell you did this,” he muttered against her lips after breaking one of the hungriest kisses they’d ever shared. “But thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it by myself,” Kono admitted, turning in his arms to nod towards the four individuals standing behind her. “Danny and Jenna worked their asses off, too. And, uh, we had help. Steve, I’m sure you know the lieutenant governor…”

“Ms. Kim,” Steve greeted, holding out his hand. “Nice to see you again, ma’am.”

“Nice to see you under better circumstances, Commander,” the lieutenant governor returned as she shook his hand. “I’m very relieved to have a man such as you watching over my state again.”

“…and we also had help from someone else,” Kono added, nodding to Cross. “Steve, meet Siobhan Cross. She is the one who helped us track Wo Fat down today.”

“Hello, Commander McGarrett,” Cross greeted, shaking his hand. “Both your father and Daniel spoke very highly of you. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

“My father?” Steve asked confusedly.

Cross simply smiled. “Story for another time. I am sure you two want some time to yourselves. We can talk about it some other time, yes?”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, still slightly distracted. “But…” He glanced over at the lieutenant governor. “You said Five-O is reinstated, right?” He looked back to Siobhan after the older woman nodded. “We’re usually going after really bad guys. It’s a lot of work for just four of us. Well, five,” he amended, nodding to Jenna.

“I don’t get to chase down the bad guys, though,” Jenna informed Cross. “McGarrett won’t let me have a gun.”

“Take the safety course, you’ll get the gun,” he muttered back with brotherly annoyance, making Kono smile. “As I was saying, it’s a lot of work. I could use someone else to take some of that on. How’d you like a job?”

“You know nothing about me,” Cross pointed out amusedly. “You literally just met me. Why are you so willing to offer me a job with so little information?”

“Well, you took down Wo Fat,” Steve pointed out. “Makes you pretty qualified in my book. And you knew my father. My father didn’t trust people I shouldn’t. So, I ask again. Would you like a job?”

“Yeah. Okay,” Cross agreed after a moment. “I would be honored to work for you, Commander.”

“Miss Cross,” Steve returned, holding out his hand so that they could shake on it. He then turned to Danny. “You’re looking pretty relieved there, buddy.”

“Oh, not for myself,” Danny rushed to assure him. “You had that girl over there pretty worried,” he informed his partner, nodding to Kono. “You take care of her, all right?”

Steve glanced down at her with a soft smile. “Yeah, Danno,” he promised. “I will.”

“Good.” The Jersey native pulled his partner in for a brief hug, then stepped away. “Well, I’m about to get out of here, because they’re going to – well, you all want to get out of here,” he advised, making the women roll their eyes and laugh, though they did what he said.

“So,” Kono murmured once they’d all driven away, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Alone at last.”

“Yes, we are,” Steve chuckled, his lips pressing briefly to hers.

“Want to go home?” she asked once they’d separated.

“Yeah,” Steve breathed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, I have cast Cross in my mind as Sarah Greene. I hope you enjoyed her introduction! Also, what John says in Hawaiian (at least according to Google Translate) is this: "Goodbye, and may we meet again."


End file.
